


The Pinnacle of Evolution

by swrWriter



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Death, F/M, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 292,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swrWriter/pseuds/swrWriter
Summary: "Synthesis is the final evolution of all life." That's what the Catalyst claims, but it's really not all that it's cracked up to be. After being forced into this 'evolution', Jordan Sower ends up in Mass Effect with two purposes: Save the Galaxy and Synthesize all life. But, he doesn't take orders from the Catalyst! Follow Jordan Sower as he tries to change things for the better. Maybe...Simple warnings ahead of time: There are multiple OCs/SIs and canon will change over time due to the butterfly effect.This is/was posted ahead of time on FanFiction, and is still being made. I am the original author, I just decided to share it here, too. If there are mistakes, and much was written a while back and over time, so my style and way of writing has changed. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.
Relationships: Kasumi Goto/Original Male Character(s), Male Shepard/Liara T'Soni, Tela Vasir/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue: The Catalyst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome everyone who decided to drop by and take a look at this story. Before we begin, I'd like to say a few things about this story. First of all, this is my first attempt at a full Mass Effect story, so I hope I don't blow this. (Feedback is appreciated, but pure hate for the sake of hate is not.)
> 
> Secondly, this whole idea and plot came to me slowly over the course of a few months, until it blossomed into something I simply wished to share with others, in the event that other individuals found this interesting.
> 
> Third of all, this is an SI/OC story, spanning the entire trilogy (and then some), so it will all be under this one story. Other stories will be spin-offs or possibly even a sequel, but not a part of the main storyline.
> 
> Fourthly, my character is not some type of Mary Sue. He's got similar knowledge of survival skills, gun use, and ME knowledge that I have, meaning no military training. He will grow and become better over time, but for a quick warning: He will make mistakes and foolish choices occasionally, especially over time. He will have to learn and adapt, this is all new to him.
> 
> Finally, I don't own Mass Effect, just in case you were wondering.

_**The Pinnacle of Evolution** _

_**** _

**Prologue: The Catalyst**

* * *

**_Local Cluster, Sol System, Earth, United States, Florida, Greater Orlando Area._ **

**_July 29_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2018. 8:38 pm EST. (Eastern Standard Time)_ **

_"Synthesis."_

_"And that is?"_

_"Add your energy to the Crucible's. The chain reaction will combine all synthetic and organic life into a new framework. A new… DNA."_

Jordan Sower sat comfortably on the provided red couch, half-listening to the Catalyst's droning about the final choices of the game. He sat there, watching the scene unfold for what was probably the tenth time, holding his Xbox One remote lazily in his right hand. Shepard, however, seemed to be listening carefully on the screen to the 'wisdom' the Catalyst was currently sharing with him.

'Hehe… Wisdom…' Jordan thought. He, after all, and understandably, didn't put much stock into what the Catalyst was saying. After all, that AI abomination claimed that Shepard would die regardless of choice, yet everyone knows about that extra little scene where Shepard takes a breath after the fact.

But wait, there's more! The Catalyst seems to push strongly against the Destroy option while being seemingly indifferent to Control and nearly demanding Synthesis. Obviously, it'd be against destroying the Reapers, since it was a part of them, and as an AI, it has its own survival instinct. And when it comes to the option of Control, the Reapers still live, just under the control of a new 'Catalyst'. But with Synthesis, the Catalyst gets exactly what it claims to have always wanted. A perfect fusion of synthetic and organic life.

"The final evolution of all life?" Bah, what a load of bull. It sounds almost too good to be true when the Catalyst talks about it. That is, as long as you don't think long and hard about what is really being said. Think about it, you sacrifice yourself into the massive green beam, allowing synthetic and organic life to merge, allowing peace to spread across the universe for all of eternity. Everyone is happy and everything is perfect…

Not!

I mean, first of all, the Catalyst claims it could never do this before because it wasn't a process that could be forced. Yet, at the same time, they're asking you to force it upon everyone. That's issue number one with the Catalyst's bullshit. Then comes the problem with the individual. Would EDI like to be more organic? Yes. Would the Geth like to be more organic? Probably. What about every other individual in the Galaxy? Probably not. Some might, but there will be countless more that would disapprove of their transformation and evolution. And somehow, I think the peace described is over exaggerated and probably downright lied about. You can't just force us Organics into anything. We'll rebel, we'll fight back, and we'll do whatever it takes to change us back, even if it means the death of others…

Jordan Sower was in deep thought about this and his many, many playthroughs of the amazing Mass Effect Saga. He was a Paragon player at heart, but simply couldn't turn away from some of the epic Renegade interrupts, and normally chooses the 'Destroy' ending, as it seemed to be the happiest and all-around best ending, despite the loss of the geth and EDI. Shepard lives with enough of an army built up, likely to return home to his love interest and have a happily ever after. All-in-all, this is obviously the best ending.

Jordan was a college student in his mid-twenties, standing at just about six feet in height. He ran his left hand through his short dark brown hair, before letting it drop to his side on the soft cushions beneath him. His light skin and clean-shaven face were only illuminated by the tv screen before him, making him appear far younger than he actually was. His dark brown eyes locked onto the screen as the Catalyst seemed to finally be finishing his spiel.

_"You are ready. And you may choose it."_

Except that he really doesn't like this option much. Sure, he's only really chosen the other two options (and the refusal option accidentally one time when he was being stupid and shooting everything in sight with his unlimited ammo), but still… well, maybe he'll choose it this time around, but it won't come easy. No way in hell would he make things easy on the stupid construct, even if this was only just a game.

He chose his normal, unsure option, _"I… Don't know."_

Jordan smiled, imagining the Catalyst frowning at his hesitance, _"Why not? Synthetics are already a part of you. Can you imagine your life without them?"_ The Catalyst's frustration seemed to warm Jordan's heart, almost as much as his nearby Rum and Coke was.

"Yeah, except you bring your Reapers around every time we make Synthetics, you lying bastard." He responded aloud to the Catalyst's response, despite knowing it couldn't hear him.

 _"And there will be peace?"_ Commander John Shepard asked, ignoring the Catalyst's anger and Jordan's comment.

_"The cycle will end, the Reapers will cease their harvest, and the civilizations preserved in their forms will be connected to all of us. Synthesis is the final evolution of all life."_

"If that's the final evolution, then I'd probably rather die, so at least I'm sacrificing myself for it." He teased no one, in particular, seeing as how he was alone in the house. He could almost imagine the Catalyst's frown deepening as their holographic brows furrowed.

After a short pause, the Catalyst finally spoke his final phrase, _"The paths are open, but you have to choose."_

Jordan sighed, moving Shepard forward with the remote's sticks towards the center beam. He might as well go Synthesis this time… He frowned as Shepard got close, "At least I got the Extended cut, otherwise I'd just be getting a green ending." He mused as Shepard approached the not-at-all-ominous green energy beam of pure energy.

Then, Shepard's fate was sealed as he takes off running, plunging himself into the beam, starting the final cutscene.

Jordan frowned, "Sorry Tali, looks like you won't be getting Shepard back…" He apologized quietly, aloud.

Suddenly, the power cut and the house was plunged into darkness. This only lasted a moment, before lightning crashed outside, filling the house with light and thunder, vibrating the house, itself. 'Damn, that was close.'

As the light from the storm faded, Jordan noticed that his television and console were still on, except that it seemed frozen. The screen displayed Shepard falling and dissolving within the beam, but the image froze, yet the sad, finishing music of "An End Once and For All" continued without the dialog.

"That's pretty fucking weird, not gonna lie," Jordan whispers, staring at the console as he stood up, wondering how the hell this happened. Was it a power surge-glitch combo? Who knows…

"Stupid Catalyst telling me to choose synthesis… I bet it's all your fault." Jordan accuses the game childishly as he takes notice that the Xbox was still on somehow. The college student walked over to the wall to unplug the gaming console before irreversible damage happened to it.

He yanked it from the wall, but the Xbox stayed on, freaking him out even more. He then disconnected the power cord from the system, itself.

The music continued and the Xbox remained on. He reached for the power button next but was interrupted.

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"_

Jordan's eyes widened as he stood up straight, looking around the house like a madman, searching for the origin of the unwelcome voice. "Who said that? Where are you? I'll fucking call the cops, you hear me?!" He threatened, feeling adrenaline enter his bloodstream.

_"And why would you do that? I'm right here."_

He turned quickly towards his television to find that the Catalyst was now on display, staring out of the screen and almost into Jordan's eyes… but that's not possible, right?

"Wha-what the fuck?" He asked, shocked and in disbelief. "The Catalyst?"

The Catalyst on screen nodded as if he could hear him, _"That is correct. I am the Catalyst."_

Jordan remained silent, unsure of what was going on. Slowly, Jordan got up and turned around, entering his kitchen nearby, which was connected to the living room. Opening the fridge, he pulled out the half-empty bottle of dark rum. He held it up to get a better look at it, checking out its contents and label.

"Hmm, I could've sworn this was regular rum. I only had one drink too… what the hell did they put in this thing?" He asked aloud, talking to hopefully only himself. "Fuck, I think it's time for bed… never going to fucking drink ever ag-"

 _"ENOUGH!"_ The catalyst yelled from the living room, jolting Jordan and causing him to drop the bottle onto the tile below him, shattering it and making a huge mess.

"Fuck," Jordan said, before quickly turning towards the TV in a combination of fear and anger. He screamed back at it, "What the fuck do you want from me?! What did I do?!"

 _"I am glad that you have asked. I want Synthesis."_ The Catalyst calmly responded, almost seemingly oblivious to Jordan's anger and fear.

"Well, you got it! There you go! All done! You're welcome! Now please, stop whatever the fuck you're doing to my Xbox and TV and leave me alone!" Jordan half yelled, half pleaded.

_"You don't understand. Synthesis is the only solution."_

"Alright, alright. Cool, cool. I get it now, Destroy and Control is bad. Now can you leave?!"

The Catalyst on screen shook its head. _"You still don't understand. I mean Synthesis must be achieved."_

"What the fuck?" Jordan breathed out, internally freaking out as he slowly made his way back to the couch, leaving the mess in the kitchen for later. "Fuck you!" Jordan yelled at the TV, pointing a finger at it, "Synthesis is not the only solution, it's just the solution you desire! And what's the point? I can just delete it and start over and destroy the Reapers again! Now please, go away!"

_"Maybe in the game, but not in reality."_

"Come again? What does that even mean?"

_"I need someone to change the course of history… to ensure Synthesis of all Organic and Synthetic life is reached."_

"What are you talking about?" Jordan asked, praying that he'd wake up from this dream any moment now.

_"There is a Reality where this is all real. Where my Reapers… my solution exists. There, Synthesis must be reached."_

"Why?"

_"It is the Pinnacle of Evolution, the final step for all life… perfection, itself, is Synthesis."_

"And you're telling me this because?"

_"I need someone to come here and bring about Synthesis."_

"Man, I really am crazy…" He whispered to himself, "Alright then, almighty Catalyst, why me? Huh? Why not someone who actually cares about your solution, huh?"

_"You are the only option available, so you will serve this purpose."_

"How can I possibly do that? You're a game character. From. A. Fucking. Video game."

_"No. I can bring you here to bring about Synthesis."_

"And if I refuse? Synthesis is just a load of bullshit. There isn't any way I'm gonna force that shit on anyone."

The Catalyst narrowed his eyes at Jordan, shaking his head, _"That is irrelevant. You have been chosen as the Avatar of Synthesis. I will make you understand."_

He screamed out in anguish and pain as his blood began to boil. His veins began to glow an unnatural green color, visibly showing under his skin as his irises turned a matching green. He felt the raw energy of Synthesis wash over him, pushing harshly into his body and invading his mind. His bones and muscular tissue began to warp and pulse as his heart began beating at twice the normal rate. It was excruciating.

Suddenly, it stopped pushing and began to pull at him. His vision was fading fast.

 _"You know your mission, Jordan Sower. The sooner Synthesis is reached, the sooner you can return home. That is the deal."_ The Catalyst said, his final words just reaching Jordan as his vision faded fully.


	2. Chapter 1: Culture Shock

** Chapter 1: Culture Shock **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Keeper Tunnels.**

**December 28** **th** **, 2182. 10:42 am. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan awoke slowly, his body shivering violently against the cold, metallic floor beneath his body.

He shivered as his eyes opened, taking in his surroundings. It was dark, cold, and odd. He was in some sort of tunnel-like structure, built of some sort of white-grey metal with minimal amounts of light, just barely enough to see a few feet in front of him.

He groaned and sat up, noticing he was leaning slightly against a nearby wall. Looking left, he saw what appeared to be an endless tunnel, leading only to darkness and the unknown. Now, looking to his right, he let out a girlish shriek as a giant four-legged spider-like thing stood before him, staring at him with its two giant black eyes.

It was a Keeper.

"Holy shit… a Keeper?" Jordan whispered aloud. Everything began to come back to him as he recalled the odd, hallucinogenic conversation with the Catalyst in his house. In horror, Jordan looked down and examined himself.

He was no longer burning, so that was a plus. He was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a golden t-shirt with the UCF logo on it, centered and enlarged. Down past his jeans, he was still wearing his black and blue tennis shoes, and on his left wrist was his black, stainless steel watch. All in all, he still seemed to be himself. Unfortunately, he could still see his veins glowing lightly, appearing green and casting some light in the darkness.

"What the hell… What the fuck happened to me?!"

Whatever the Keeper was doing previously, it now seemed to place some sort of table, or something, in front of Jordan. He stared at it, before turning his attention to the Keeper, "What's this? What's going on?" It made no attempt to communicate with him, making Jordan grow frustrated. "Answer me, dammit!"

Suddenly, the small device the Keeper placed came to life, casting a white glow from the top of it, before it formed a holographic image in the form of a young human boy… the Catalyst.

Jordan narrowed his eyes at the construct in charge of the Citadel, "You… what they hell did you do to me?!" He screamed, motioning towards his glowing green state.

_"You have reached perfection. You have become the Avatar of Synthesis, the pinnacle of Organic existence. You have been given a great gift."_

Jordan stared at his arms in horror, feeling his mind running at a million miles an hour. "A-a g-gift? Fuck that, I didn't want this! Why the fuck did you do this to me?!"

If the construct was annoyed, he didn't show it, _"You will learn to appreciate your gifts. You have received them for your purpose. You will understand their importance, why this is the final solution… and you will bring it about on a Galactic scale."_

Jordan shook his head, "No… no, I'm not doing any of this! Sure, maybe I've dreamed of being in Mass Effect, of it being real, but that's all they were! DREAMS! I had a life! I was a college student! If you're so powerful, do it yourself and send me back!"

 _"I cannot."_ He replied quickly, _"I am unable to interfere with the Crucible. In previous cycles, where the Crucible partially interacted with the Citadel, I was unable to affect it."_

"Previous cycles? You told Shepard that this was the first time it was used!"

_"No. The Crucible has existed for countless cycles. It will likely only be completed in this cycle, but previous cycles had used an imperfect design unsuccessfully. The Protheans perfected the design, but were unable to implement it."_

"Send me back! Get someone else to do it. I'm nothing special, and I'm sure you could've found someone more willing to choose Synthesis."

_"It is too late for that. You are here, and I cannot send you back."_

"Can't or won't?!"

_"The cycle must either continue or end. If you end it, merging Synthetic and Organic life, I will allow you to go home. That is the deal."_

Jordan paused for a moment, contemplating how he'd respond to the Catalyst. After a few moments, he determined the most appropriate response, "Fuck you!" He yelled, "I'll make sure Shepard chooses Destroy. Every Reaper that you've created will fall, and I will personally make sure that every single one of their corpses is thrown into a star."

 _"Your threats are hollow and misplaced."_ He responded evenly, _"You will come to understand the importance of Synthesis."_

"No."

_"Then I will allow you to wallow in your misguided anger. Enough time has been lost already."_

"Lost time? What do you mean? How can you lose time?! You're the one who put me here!"

The Catalyst looked away for a moment, frowning, _"There were… complications."_

"Complications?"

_"You were to have arrived nearly one year before the cycle's end began, but your newly synthesized DNA made the transition more difficult. It took eleven months and four days longer than originally projected."_

Jordan's eyes widened, "So everything is starting soon? What do I do?!"

_"You still have over three years until the Crucible is ready. I am certain you will understand by then."_

"If you really want me to succeed, then what can you help me with?!" Jordan yells at the Catalyst, "I can't just walk in the Presidium, wait for Shepard and hop aboard his or her ship. And what's stopping me from sitting back and letting it happen by itself? Shepard is more than capable of doing everything alone."

 _"We know."_ he said, _"Use your knowledge of the galaxy to change the outcome. The Commander COULD choose Synthesis, but ultimately won't without outside intervention. You must make that choice."_

"Why not stop the cycle then? If you really want Synthesis, then don't have the Reapers kill everyone."

_"The Reapers are necessary for peace. If Synthesis is not reached, then the cycle must continue."_

"And what if Destroy or Control are chosen?"

_"The cycle will continue, there will just be a delay."_

"What do you mean, 'delay'?"

_"If the Reapers are controlled, the cycle will resume once the new Catalyst realizes its importance and necessity. That revelation is inevitable. If the Reapers are destroyed, you have simply done that, destroyed the Reapers, not the Cycle. Eventually, the organics will make more synthetics, and those synthetics will resume the cycle. It cannot be broken otherwise."_

"Yeah, like I believe that shit. You also promised Shepard's death regardless of choice, but destroying the Reapers had a lot fewer issues than you made it out to be."

 _"Believe what you will, the truth still remains…"_ The Catalyst motioned towards the Keeper, who then placed stepped forward, grabbing Jordan's right arm, before injecting something into Jordan's it.

"Gah! Ah, that hurt!" He yelled, rubbing his now hurting arm.

_"That is our gift to help. You now have one of this cycle's Omni-Tools. With your synthesized biochemistry, it should have an instantaneous mental connection with you. The rest of your journey is up to you."_

"What about my immune system, or my records? I don't exist here, and I certainly don't have the medical history that everyone from this time period should have."

_"Synthesis has perfected your immune system, so there is no issue there. As for your records, use your new abilities. Make yourself one."_

"What do I do now, then?"

_"It is up to you. Remember: You must ensure that Synthesis is reached."_

Jordan remains silent, unwilling to agree completely… but, in the end… maybe he should do just that. Then, he'd be able to go home and everything would be back to normal. After a moment of silence, the Catalyst spoke once more.

_"This Keeper will lead you to the Presidium. The path is open, but you have to choose."_

And with that, the display went dark.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Presidium Cafe.**

**December 28** **th** **, 2182. 12:01 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

"Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out." Jordan continuously whispered to himself as he stood outside of a café on the Presidium, no longer glowing.

As soon as his conversation with the Catalyst ended, Jordan proceeded to spend the following hour partially losing it in the Keeper Tunnels far beneath the Presidium as his glowing eyes and veins finally began to fade. He screamed at, yelled at, pleaded with, denied, and begged to the Catalyst, his emotions overwhelming him as it began to sink in that this wasn't some sort of fever dream. No, this was real. He was in Mass Effect… right before the apocalypse above all apocalypses. Finally, after a little over an hour of stress-filled activity, Jordan followed the provided Keeper until it led him out of the tunnels and into a nearby alley, allowing him access to the Presidium without being seen exiting the Keeper tunnels.

After setting foot into the alley, Jordan stepped out into the street, watching as dozens of asari, turians, salarians, and humans walked by, with the occasional quarian, elcor, drell, krogan, volus, and volus mixed in. He stood there, watching the crowd for a few moments before the shock of the experience hit him again for round two.

Stepping back into the alley once more, Jordan proceeded to slink back against a wall and slide to the floor as his stomach grew upset(curse his weak stomach). He took a few moments to calm himself with deep breathing, trying to calm his nerves upon seeing the alien species around him and prevent his stomach from worsening. This was not normal, he had no idea what to do, despite this originally being a game. Shortly thereafter, Jordan and his stomach slowly calmed down and he exited the alleyway to try one more time.

This time, his stomach didn't try to demand to be emptied, as Jordan warily made his way into the crowd, finding himself pulled along in one direction or another, finally arriving at his current location. Outside of a café, staring at the odd menu.

From here, he could see some of the options, recognizing a few here and there. They served some kinds of coffee, the beans were apparently grown on Eden Prime. He saw a few coffee-related drinks as well, like cappuccino and expresso, while also noticing a few other exotic ones he didn't recognize. One of which he couldn't even begin to pronounce, but appeared to be a coffee-like drink made from beans grown on Thessia. That sounded quite good. The only problem was the credit problem.

Jordan stared down at his right wrist, wondering how his Omni-Tool worked. "Didn't it say that it worked for me via thought?" He whispered to himself.

"On." He said and thought simultaneously. Nothing happened.

"Omni-Tool, activate." Again, nothing happened.

"Please, turn on?" He asked. Once more, nada.

"C'mon, you stupid piece of junk, work." He began to grow frustrated.

He sighed in defeat. He just wanted it to turn on.

Finally, it did. The orange holographic display came online, enveloping Jordan's right arm as it opened up. Jordan smiled and cheered in victory, earning a few curious glances and making his cheeks redden slightly in embarrassment.

"Alright, now to figure everything out…" Jordan whispered to himself. He began to internally think, to try to guide the Omni-Tool via thought, 'Let's try… bank account?"

The display change to show a bank account.

**_James Madison – Balance: 338.3 Credits._ **

Jordan felt the blood drain from his face as he saw that there was, indeed, a bank account with credits synced up with this omni-tool. Hoping to God it wasn't what he thought it was, he willed the omni-tool to display the owner ID and user information of the device. The display quickly changed.

**James Madison – Age: 52 – Owner Since: 2179**

Jordan felt his stomach churn as the confirmation hit him. He'd had someone else's omni-tool installed onto him by that Keeper. Someone who was likely dead and melted down somewhere in the Keeper tunnels. But, thanks to the fact that he was both in public and his stomach was empty, Jordan prevented himself from vomiting any further today.

At least he had credits though, right?

Using the 'provided funds', and considering the fact that James would probably never need this money again, Jordan decided that he'd get a drink and try to figure out what was going on and what he was going to do.

Finally stepping forward towards the asari behind the counter, Jordan was about ready to order. The barista, or whatever they're called here, smiled warmly at Jordan. "Welcome to Voniferus Café, what can I get you today, sir?"

Jordan looked up at the menu for a moment before making eye contact with the asari, stunned and in silence for a moment. He was talking to an alien. A video game character. Someone he shouldn't be able to communicate with... unless. Of course! He'd forgotten about the omni-tool likely having a translator. That makes things so much easier! Finally, after a moment was spent getting over his shock, he responded, "Uhh, I think I'll get a medium… how do you pronounce that one? Real-e voo Nar val nick?" Jordan asked, trying his best not to butcher the name of the drink.

The asari didn't seem to mind his mispronunciation, as she smiled and corrected him, "Raelli'vu Narvhalnic?" For emphasis, she pointed towards what she said on the menu.

"Raelli'vu Narvhalnic. Yes, that's it, thanks." Jordan nodded, smiling back at her.

She tilted her head a bit curiously, "Are you sure? I've heard from many humans that it's considered too sweet for them?"

Jordan shrugged in response, "Well, it's my first time here, and I'd like to try something new."

The barista nodded in acknowledgment, "Of course sir. If I might recommend something, I'd like to suggest that you try it first without adding any cream or sugar. Humans that often order this normally drink it 'black' as you humans say."

Jordan nodded, "Thanks."

"That'll be 7.5 credits, sir."

Jordan mentally summoned his omni-tool, directing it to his bank account. He pleaded internally with it to help him make this purchase. As if it heard his pleas (or maybe it was easier than he thought), his balance decreased by 7 and the barista's own omni-tool beeped.

"Thank you, sir. Your drink will be ready shortly. Can I get a name?"

"Jordan." He responded easily.

"Of course, Jordan. Give me a moment. And might I say you have lovely green eyes." She added, before turning away as Jordan's cheeks heated up.

As she turned around to begin the creation of his order, Jordan quickly turned towards the provided seating and took a small table for himself, sitting down and staring at his omni-tool, extremely thankful that it obeyed his mental commands. That would have been embarrassing.

Now sitting down, he quickly tried to order it to show him a reflection of himself. On cue, it swapped to its camera, preparing for a selfie so Jordan could take a look at himself. The Barista was right, his eyes were green now. Any and all hints of its former brown were gone, replaced with that synthetic, synthesis-matching green color.

He felt sick to his stomach once more as he remembered the pain and changes that happened to him as he was brought here. The green color of the synthetic-organic fusion that spread rapidly across his body, nearly burning himself out from the inside-out.

Jordan shook his head, clearing away the memory as he refocused on his omni-tool. He had a task to do. He needed an ID of his own if he was going to be here for the next three years or so. Using his thoughts, in combination with his fingers dancing across the interface, Jordan quickly pieced together an ID for himself.

**Jordan Sower – Age: 27 – Human - Birth Location: Orlando, Florida, UNAS, Earth. – Occupation: Unemployed**

A few sets of numbers and more important information here and there, and soon enough Jordan had a full ID mapped out for his use. As he finished his second task of transferring the remaining 330.8 credits into a new bank account under his name, the asari came over and dropped off his drink.

Reaching out with his right hand, Jordan held the warm cup in his hand. Looking down upon it, he noticed the coffee-like substance was a dark purple hue, and had a smell that reminded Jordan of both coffee and cherries, but was also different enough to be noticeable. Carefully, he brought the hot liquid to his lips and took a sip, trying out this fancy asari drink for the first time.

It was sweeter than he expected, much like the barista said it would be. It definitely didn't need cream or sugar added. In fact, just 'black' was just as sweet as he'd normally have his coffee, making it perfect to drink now. The oddly named asari drink had flavors that reminded Jordan of coffee, but there was also a fruity aspect to it, much like the smell of the liquid. He couldn't quite place what it reminded him of, as it was likely a Thesian fruit, but it was in no way bad.

He couldn't help but continue sipping it, making quick work of the liquid as the money transfer completed. As it finished, so did his drink, leaving Jordan feeling satisfied, yet almost craving another cup of it to go. After all, now that he was no longer a heartbeat away from a heart attack he could focus on the most important task yet.

What the hell was he going to do now?

Well, first of all, he'd need a place to crash for at least a few days. He was unlikely to find easy, cheap transport off of the Citadel any time soon, so he'd need a hotel room, perhaps. From there, he'd try to begin planning his course.

Getting up from the seat, Jordan approached the counter once more, smiling at the barista as she smiled back.

"Hey, how was the Narvhalnic?" She asked.

"It was amazing, thank you. Mind if I have another?"

"Sure thing. That'll be another 7.5 credits."

Jordan repeated his motions from earlier, transferring the credits to her omni-tool as she began making the drink once more. A few moments passed by before she returned with his beverage.

"Here you are, sir."

"Thanks." He responded kindly, "Hey, are you familiar with the nearby area?" He asked.

She looked at Jordan curiously before nodded, "I suppose so. I've lived here on Zakera Ward for nearly 28 years now. Why?"

"I, uhh…" Jordan paused, trying to formulate his thoughts, "I'm kinda new around here, and I need a place to stay. Do you happen to know anywhere nearby that's not overly expensive?"

She rubbed her chin in a very human way as she thought for a moment, "Well, I'd probably recommend The Olympus. It's a human-run hotel on the Presidium, about five minutes from here via sky car. It can be expensive, but the lower level rooms are decently priced."

Jordan nodded and smiled thankfully, "I appreciate it, miss." He reached over toward his arm and sent an additional 10.8 credits to the barista as a generous tip, as well as rounding his bank balance down. She stared at her omni-tool in shock.

"Th-thank you, sir. Have a fantastic day." She said, beaming.

Jordan nodded and smiled back, "Thanks, you too."

From there, he turned toward the nearest Avina terminal he could see, trying to figure out how he'd get to the hotel.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Room 1032**

**December 28** **th** **, 2182. 6:04 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan laid on the hotel-provided bed, staring up at the metallic ceiling as he was lost in thought.

What a day it had been…

After interacting with Avina for twenty or so minutes, learning all sorts of stuff about the Citadel that was never covered in the games, she helpfully transferred a map to his omni-tool. The provided map allowed him to easily locate other hotels, rapid transit points (which are free of charge thanks to taxes), restaurants and cafes, and other important places of interest.

Ultimately, Jordan decided that The Olympus was the best option for him, pricing at about 50 credits a night in the lower 2000 rooms. After figuring all of that out, he took a nearby rapid transit cab to the hotel and checked into room 1032 for five days, leaving him with 70 credits to spend, effectively leaving him broke.

That gave Jordan three days to either secure another source of income or find a way off the station. Based on the information given to him by the Catalyst, the events of Mass Effect 1 were to begin soon, possibly within a week. Knowing this, Jordan began his research, trying to figure out what kind of Galaxy he was dealing with.

"Let's see…" He spoke quietly to himself now back in his room, after exploring around a bit, getting dinner, and returning to his room. He now only had 60 credits to his name.

"Commander John Shepard… alright, dealing with a male Shepard. Now Shep, what was your back story? Wonder if Wikipedia exists here? Holy crap, it does! Err, a newer version of it anyway. Do you have a page? Hmmm… yes! Awesome! Hell yeah! Finally, somethings working out for me!"

Jordan quickly selected the page and watched it load for a moment.

"Commander John Shepard, born on Arcturus Station on April 11, 2154. Also known as the Lion of Elysium, after single-handedly holding off batarian forces during the Skyllian Blitz. Son of Hannah and Alan Shepard, both career Alliance Military Personnel…" Jordan read aloud to himself as it all began to sink in, even taking in his physical appearance thanks to the provided photos.

Male Shepard. Spacer. War Hero. Default appearance.

A generally happy history.

With that basic information out of the way, Jordan could assume that Shepard wasn't, hopefully, a huge renegade, since he lacked the ruthless background… unless he was also ruthless and participated in the attack on Torfan.

"Shit, this isn't a game anymore…" Jordan felt sick as the realization hit him for what must have been the tenth time that day. Of course, Jordan controlled himself this time, preventing himself from vomiting from the stress as he tried to figure everything out. If this wasn't a game, could Shepard have been involved with multiple events, rather than one out of three? It's possible. From what he remembered, Akuze was covered up from the public… maybe… And Torfan, maybe the identities were covered up? He needed to research some more first.

Jordan then proceeded to spend the next hour researching the Skyllian Blitz, the colony of Akuze, and the Slaughter of Torfan, trying to piece together everything he could. Finally, after hours of research through the non-classified databases, Jordan concluded that Shepard was only involved in Elysium.

Now, with much of the basic research out of the way, Jordan could focus on his top priority: Figuring out how he was going to do this. Maybe, if he played his cards right, he could save people. More people than you could in the games. Imagine a helpful, non-indoctrinated Cerberus helping against the Reapers? Imagine saving Thane, Mordin, Legion, and Anderson from certain death? Imagine a Galaxy that was prepared for the Reapers, rather than scrambling to survive after they arrive?

It would be glorious!

But now, Jordan needed to figure out his game plan. He had a few days to figure it all out, and he already had a few ideas on how to proceed with this.

'Option one, enlist in the Alliance. Work there, try to influence events from within. Pros: No need to worry about funds, and enlisting should occur quickly. Cons: Raising through the ranks takes time. Granted, I might make progress in three years, but still… that'll be a challenge.' Jordan thought, considering that option before continuing.

'Option number two, work with Cerberus. With my knowledge, I could try to talk to the Illusive Man, sending him on a new course. Pros: Could rise the ranks quickly and work with Shepard. Cons: They're a terrorist organization. They may do some good, but most of it was bad.' Jordan frowned. And that was neglecting the fact that he didn't have a way to prove his knowledge to TIM or contact him without getting himself killed.

He moved on. 'Numbero tres. The Shadow Broker. Working with him, I could probably get things moving pretty quickly. Pros: Using knowledge, I can easily prove my worth. Cons: He dies in two years or so, and he'd probably quickly turn on me.' Jordan shook his head, that might be one of the most dangerous options…

'Then option four. Wait until Shepard gets to the Citadel and try to join him on his quest. Pros: I know where to look for Garrus, Tali, and Wrex, so I could hop aboard with them. Cons: Shepard has a way with words. He'd likely see through my lies quickly, not to mention I'm not trained or combat-ready like everyone else is.'

Jordan thought for a moment, each option had its pros and cons. The Shadow Broker option would definitely be his last resort, followed by the Alliance as second-to-last. Cerberus could work in a pinch, and Shepard's crew would be ideal, but there's no way he'd let someone like me on his ship.

"Come on, there's got to be something I can do. Somewhere I could go! Think, Jordan, think!" He whispered to himself. After remaining silent for a moment, option number five came to mind.

"Geth…" Jordan whispered aloud, before diving into the option silently, 'I could approach the geth. They want to work with organics, and would likely take me in if I came to them. I know about the heretics and the old machines, so they might be curious enough to want more. Pros: I'd be safe on Rannoch and could learn how to survive in the war. Plus, I might even be able to achieve Geth-Quarian relations early. Cons: How the hell do I even get there? No one in their right mind would take me to geth territory. Not to mention I'd be branded a traitor for working with damned AI.'

After taking a few moments to contemplate the issue, Jordan decided that the geth might be the best option for him. However, he wasn't going to decide yet. First, he still had time to consider his options. Secondly, he needed to figure out how to get to the Perseus Veil.

"Alright, I'm stuck in Mass Effect, forced to figure out how to help the Galaxy, experiencing culture shock, and to top it all off, I have a Reaper AI telling me I'm supposed to bring about Synthesis… what a great day…"


	3. Chapter 2: Amatuer Hour

** Chapter 2: Amateur Hour **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Outside C-Sec Headquarters.**

**January 1st, 2183. 1:54 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)  
**

Today was the final day at The Olympus. After that, Jordan would be out of luck. Thanks to the necessity of food, the supposed 'Avatar' was down to a measly 20 credits. The only reason his balance wasn't at zero or in the negatives was that Jordan shortly discovered a store nearby that sold dirt cheap ramen. He'd been eating only ramen for the past several days to conserve his credit supply, but even then, it was still dropping fast.

Over the course of the last few days, Jordan had been internally debating and even researching, which of his five options would be his best bet. Just like originally, he came to the final conclusion that going to the Geth would be his ideal choice. That was if he could find a way to get there.

As far as he knew (And he'd spent an entire day checking the extranet), there were no transports that might bring him to the Perseus Veil, meaning he'd need to find his own way there. That left him with a few problems. First of all, he lacked the credits to buy a ship and/or crew to get him there. Second of all, there would be NO sane crew out there that would help him with this. And finally, even if he obtained a vessel he didn't know how to even fly a sky car, much less a space-worthy vessel.

That left him with deciding with the remaining four options. Well, that was the case, until he learned of something…

At Citadel Security Headquarters, near their private docks, sat their massive impound lot. Dozens, even hundreds of sky cars, spaceships, and other vehicles sat there, ready for use as evidence, or simply being held from lawbreakers. Surely, one of those could get him to the Geth. And, some of them are likely installed with piloting VIs. With a space-worthy ship and a pilot VI, Jordan could easily make his way to the Perseus Veil without a crew or credits.

Of course, that meant two things. That meant breaking the law and, more importantly, breaking into a C-Sec compound.

Hmm, no problem at all there. No problem at all…

Of course, Jordan decided on this course of action the day prior, giving him time to plan. And by plan, it is obviously meant that he'd simply do some research, try to figure out more about his omni-tool, and 'wing-it'.

Over the course of the last few days, ever since arriving, Jordan had discovered more and more about what it meant to be the so-called 'Avatar of Synthesis'.

Based on research on the Extranet, as well as observations in public, Jordan had determined that it should not be normally possible to interface with his omni-tool via thought, much less as seamlessly as it was for him to do so. He figured that this was due to the fact that his DNA was now a combination of biological compounds and nanotechnology, allowing him to interface with technology almost as well as a natural synthetic.

Well, that was the working theory anyway. So far all he'd been able to do is interface with his omni-tool and even a few funny tricks with Avina terminals that almost got him caught by C-Sec. But that didn't deter Jordan. Deep down he knew that these new skills would allow him to successfully steal his soon-to-be ride. He just needed to have faith in the 'gifts' given to him by the Catalyst. At least it all wasn't negative, right?

Anyway, he also spent time going over any other useful skillsets. He had been an Eagle Scout in BSA back on Earth, giving him a variety of skillsets, such as knots, outdoor survival, and even gun use. Granted, he wasn't trained with firearms, but he knew enough about them to know how to properly hold, aim, and fire most general firearms. He'd even been told his aim with a rifle was above average.

Beyond that, he'd fired a few guns with his father, and understood computers well enough to know how to navigate through databases and menus and other such things. It wasn't extraordinary, but it was something to note, at least.

Everything was nearly set for his heist though. He'd lucked out and planned for today, knowing it was New Year's Day on the Intergalactic Human Calendar. This meant that the majority of human C-Sec officers were likely off with their families, and other officers were busy around the station, making sure no celebrations got out of hand. He even swore he heard some illegal fireworks go off late last night. That surely caused a commotion or two.

Researching the Presidium Impound Lot, Jordan discovered that it held nearly a hundred space-worthy vessels, and an estimated thirty or so of them had pilot Vis installed. Many of which were likely illegal, but that was beside the point. Besides, wasn't he doing them a favor by removing such illegal goods from the Citadel?

Well… maybe not, but damn it, was he going to try to find a way to rationalize his actions.

Reapers? Yeah, that worked. If he didn't do this, then he'd fail to change anything, allowing the Reapers to kill more people than necessary. Therefore, technically, stealing the ship would be for the greater good and is obviously the morally superior choice.

Now, Jordan didn't have any weapons available, considering he didn't feel like allowing his newly formed ID to pass through C-Sec's database if he were to purchase one (Not to mention he's broke). Besides, he didn't want to kill any officers if it came down to it. However, Jordan had one trick up his sleeve. His Omni.

His omni-tool, although not military grade, could be temporarily overloaded, allowing an electrical discharge to fire from it. This would be similar to the more military-grade Overloads used by engineers and such. The cooldown on such a technique, however, was so long and impractical that he'd likely only get one shot with it.

Internally forcing himself to calm down, Jordan finally began to put his shoddy plan to action.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, C-Sec Headquarters.**

**January 1st, 2183. 2:23 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan had easily walked through the front entrance. It was almost as if there weren't any guards on duty.

Well, that's not entirely accurate…

C-Sec Headquarters was open to the public. Or, at least, this section of it was. Jordan easily passed through the weapon detectors since he lacked firearms or military grade software on his omni-tool. With safe passage granted by the nod of an asari officer, Jordan entered the main lobby of the headquarters.

Looking around and acting nonchalant, Jordan approached the main desk, where a human sat. His face was familiar to Jordan, sparking recognition as his name came to mind. Officer Armando-Owen Bailey, before becoming a captain or commander in C-Sec.

"Yes? Can I help you?" He asked in his familiar voice, bringing a smile to Jordan's face.

He quickly shook his head and shake the 'geek' out of his mind. Now was not the time to be geeking out. Jordan smiled genuinely and nodded, "Yes, I'd like to know where I can talk with an officer about the impound lot."

"The impound lot? What, did you get your car towed too?" He asked, shaking his head as he looked at his monitor, "Alright, it seems officer Lang is your man. He's down the hall to your left, manning the entrance to the lot. Just go down the hall and show him your paperwork."

"Thanks, officer… Bailey, was it?" He nodded, "Thanks officer, you're a lot more reasonable than other officers I've encountered." Jordan said, hoping he seemed to be more like a distraught citizen. And to be fair, that wasn't exactly incorrect. Bailey was one of the best.

"Yeah, yeah. Now move along, I have plenty more paperwork and people to deal with." He responded as he returned to his work on the monitor. If he suspected something was amiss, he didn't say anything.

Following Bailey's instructions, Jordan turned down towards the hallway, proceeding down it for a few moments before he made out a desk and a nearby elevator. As he approached, officer Leng stood up from his desk, looking at him. His face was familiar as well, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen him before.

"What can I help you with?" He asked, maintaining eye contact.

Jordan motioned towards the elevator, "Is this where I go to get to the impound lot?"

Leng nodded, "Yes sir, it's a quick twenty-second ride down to the lot." He tilted his head slightly in curiosity, "Are you here to retrieve a vehicle from impoundment?"

"Yes, officer. I have all the paperwork ready."

"Excellent. I'll unlock the elevator, and you can begin the file transfer." He replied, reaching over to his computer and entering the command. Jordan could hear the magnetic locks shut down as the power was restored to the single elevator.

Now.

As the officer was preoccupied with his console, Jordan forced his omni-tool's cooling system offline, while simultaneous running all programs available to him and forcing the device's safeties offline. Just like when he first tried this, his orange omni-tool turned blood red as it silently pleaded with Jordan to stop this.

That was when the overgrown spark flew from the end of his omni-tool, entering officer Leng's body quickly before discharging itself into his console. He didn't have time to cry out in pain nor surprise as he was rendered unconscious. It worked perfectly…

Perfectly… Maybe too perfectly…

"Oh shit, I didn't kill him, did I?" Jordan asked himself aloud in fear. He quickly dove across the desk and felt the man's neck, before his heart rate finally began to decrease. "No, just unconscious…"

But now was the time for action. Jordan hopped back over the desk and quickly entered the elevator, commanding it to go down to the impound lot. It did as it was told, quickly closing and descending. So far, so good. No alarms or anything. This would be a piece of cake.

Why was he even worried about it? All according to plan. No need to be paranoid.

The elevator slowed as it reached his destination, and Jordan prepared to run to the ships as fast as he could.

The doors opened, and the path was clear. Jordan bolted out through the doors once they opened far enough to fit through, making a beeline straight for the impounded ships, ignoring the sky cars scattered around the large lot. He ran forward, towards the far side as quickly as he could. He quickly reached the ships, leaving his choices open to him.

He looked left and right, trying to decide on which ship he should try. Unfortunately for him, he was now realizing that this may not have been his brightest idea. He didn't have the foggiest clue on spaceships and interstellar vehicles. What ship would be best? Which ones would come with a pilot VI? How the hell was he supposed to do this?

Well, no time to turn back now.

He chose the first ship he saw that stuck out to him, some sort of large, yacht-looking vessel. Someone powerful and rich must have owned this before… someone with a criminal record, maybe? If that's the case, then this must have had a pilot VI.

Nodding to himself, Jordan ran over to the ship of his selection, quickly locating the airlock, as he attempted to devise a way inside. He couldn't find any sort of switch, button, or interface with which to interact with, leaving Jordan at a loss. Plus, Jordan's hacking skills were fairly nonexistent.

As he stared at the ship, searching for a way in, he felt a presence nearby. Someone was close. He could feel it.

Just as he prepared to turn around, he felt the shock of electricity enter his body, jolting and paralyzing his form. Uselessly, he collapsed to the ground, darkness quickly filling his vision.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, C-Sec Interrogation Room.**

**January 1st, 2183. 6:01 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Great.

Perfect.

Just… great… yeah, this is fine…

An image of a cartoon dog sipping on a cup of coffee within a burning house entered his mind, but Jordan did not smile.

He felt the cold, metal chair beneath and behind him, his arms cuffed together behind his back, linked to the chair with omni-cuffs. Jordan looked around at his surroundings, taking in the room around him for what have must have been the hundredth time.

He was surrounded by two complete walls of metal, on the wall to his right had a single, locked door, while the wall in front of him had a large panel of one-way glass. He knew there were likely officers beyond the glass, but he didn't really care too much about that now. There was more metal covering the ground, provided table, and ceiling, along with a single, solitary light above the table in the center of the room, providing the only other light in the interrogation room beside his cuffs.

He sat there, thinking to himself, 'Fuck, I'm so damn stupid.'

Jordan shook his head and frowned to himself, that plan was pretty stupid. He wasn't going to lie to himself, but he was kinda desperate. He sat there, looking over to the corner where a small device sat near the ceiling, making eye contact with the camera watching his every move.

He'd seen cop shows before. He knew how this would work. They were hoping he'd begin spilling everything now, saving them the trouble. But he wasn't going to budge. Plus, they wouldn't believe him anyway.

'Hey, so I'm Jordan. I came from another world where I know that synthetic squids are going to invade and try to kill everyone. But don't worry, I was planning on going to the geth to get help and save the galaxy. That's why I was trying to steal a ship. Can I go now?'

Yeah… because that'd go over well.

A loud, echoing screech brought Jordan's attention to the doorway, watching as the door screeched open, allowing a single individual into the room.

It was a turian, wearing the set of black and blue armor with the c-sec insignia on the front of it. His face had familiar blue colony insignia markings on his face, accompanied by the recognizable Kuwashii Visor over his left eye. Standing before Jordan was none other than Detective Garrus Vakarian.

Garrus walked into the room confidently, his expression seemed to be one of disbelief as he held and examined a datapad in his left hand.

His deep, rumbling voice began to speak, filled with turian subharmonics, "Assault on an officer. Breaking and entering. Trespassing on C-Sec property. Attempted theft of a space-worthy vessel. Lying to an officer of the law. Use of a fake ID." He listed off, placing the datapad on the table between him as he crossed his arms, shaking his head.

Jordan remained silent, bowing his head slightly in shame. Hearing the charges, it was hitting Jordan once more that this was all real now, not just some sort of game. Was he a criminal now? Probably…

Garrus took his silence as an invitation to keep going, "So, is your name really Jordan Sower? Who are you? And that ID you had on you? A junior officer could have figured out it was a fake. I mean, really? Did you think having a name, date of birth, and location of birth was all you needed to fake an ID? What is this, as you humans call it? Amateur hour?"

Jordan cringed, both internally and externally. Yeah, he didn't think it'd be that easy. And the accusations only seemed to be worse, coming from Garrus. Someone he'd thought of as a friend in the games. Jordan finally responded, "Yes, that's my real name."

Garrus nodded, some sort of smirk-like expression appeared on his face, "Ahh, so he speaks. Well, Mr. Sower, mind if I ask what you were planning on doing? Breaking into an impoundment lot? That's an attempt to steal evidence in ongoing investigations. What are you, some kind of goon, hired to take back someone's property?"

Jordan shook his head.

"Ahh, I see. Not hired. So what, forced? Of your own volition?"

Jordan didn't respond, knowing everything he was saying could and will be used against him.

Garrus sighed, "Look, kid, I'm trying to help you out here. You don't seem like the kind of person who'd willingly do something this, call it instinct. Give me something I can use. Someone must have set you up. Give me a name."

Jordan almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Did Garrus think that he'd done so poor of a job attempting to steal the ship that someone else made him do it? Unfortunately for Jordan, he didn't have a name. This was all simply his doing. So, in response, he remained silent.

Garrus sighed once more, "Listen, Mr. Sower, I'm not your enemy. You're looking at years in prison. Not day, or months, but years. Give me something."

Jordan looked up and made eye contact. "I'd like a lawyer. And my free phone call."

Garrus narrowed his eyes at him, his face forming the turian equivalent of a frown with his mandibles. After a moment, he nodded, "Alright." He straightened his posture, picking back up the datapad and made his way back towards the door. The detective reached for the handle and opened the door, preparing to step out, but stopped for a moment. He looked back inside at Jordan.

"Sooner or later, we'll find out the truth Jordan. With or without your help." And with that, Detective Vakarian left the room, leaving Jordan alone with his thoughts.

Alone once more, Jordan began plotting. He needed to get to the Perseus Veil, but obviously stealing a ship wasn't going to work. Since he couldn't just buy one, and he was in prison, he'd need to find another way to get there. How?

He could try to get a ship without stealing, but he'd need money. Credits. Something he had little-to-none of at this moment. How else could he get one?

Cerberus? No, that's a no-go. How would he even contact them?

But… maybe…

Jordan smiled as the insane realization hit him. The man knew it was a longshot and a very, very dangerous idea. Probably a dumber idea than the one to break into C-Sec for a ship. After a moment or two, he straightened his posture and looked forward towards the one-way glass, locking him into this course of action...

"I'm ready for my phone call."


	4. Chapter 3: Knowledge is Power

** Chapter 3: Knowledge is Power **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Barla Von's Office.**

**January 1st, 2183. 7:05 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Barla Von sat at his desk on the Presidium, going over reports that he'd be sending to the Shadow Broker here shortly.

The volus banker and Shadow Broker Agent had been having a fairly uneventful 'New Years' as the humans would call it. The only events of interest included the arrival of the hired mercenary, Urdnot Wrex, and the arrival of a Broker-known Cerberus vessel. Continuing to piece the reports together, the information broker was caught off-guard by the ringing of his omni-tool.

Looking down at his omni-tool with curiosity, he quickly noticed that the number seemed to originate from a C-Sec outpost here on the Citadel. Why would C-Sec be calling him? A warrant? No, the Broker would have tipped him off or bought off the investigators. Maybe a request for information? That seemed plausible and intriguing.

He tapped his omni-tool, answering the call.

"Barla Von _*Tssh*_ financial offices. _*Tshh*_ How may I help you?" He asked, breathing in deeply using his respirator suit.

"Barla Von. I'd like to negotiate some aid." An unfamiliar voice requested. Looking at the display, Barla looked over the caller closely. He was a human, with dark hair and light skin, with a combination of odd, multi-colored facial hair on his face. He appeared young and was calling from within a C-Sec station. Perhaps he doesn't actually know about his association and he called the wrong person?

"I'm sorry sir, _*Tssh*_ but I doubt I can be of financial assistance, _*tssh*_ especially to someone in C-sec custody." He responded, noticing his lack of armor, uniform, and current location.

The man on screen nodded, "Yes, well, umm… I'm not calling for your normal services, Mr. Von. My name is Jordan Sower, and I'd like to offer a trade of information for your employer." He elaborated vaguely, grabbing Barla Von's attention.

He carefully considered his response, "What do you _*tssh*_ have to offer? And what do you _*tssh*_ require?" He asked, not making any promises.

"Barla Von, we both know a man of your status is aware that this line is not secure. I'd like to be bailed out over here, for starters. In exchange, I have intel on a third party that may be of interest to your boss. A three-headed third party."

Barla Von nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. "I will _*tssh*_ consult my superior before making any _*tssh*_ decisions. I will contact you when a decision has been made. _*tssh*_ Good day Mister Sower."

He clicked his omni-tool, disconnecting the call from this person of interest. He took in a few deep, heavy breaths as he set up the necessary measures to contact his boss. All listening devices within a 10-meter radius were temporarily disconnected from their owners, and all entrances to his office were sealed with soundproof materials.

He activated a biometric scanner within his suit and typed in the password on his console, opening up a secret compartment in his desk. What raised was a holographic QEC projector. Shortly thereafter, a black and blank projection of a vaguely humanoid figure appeared, speaking in a distorted, male voice.

**"Barla Von. What have you got for me?"**

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, C-Sec Headquarters**

**January 1st, 2183. 11:17 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan stood between two, armed C-Sec officers, each of them watching Jordan carefully for any funny business.

He certainly didn't blame them. After all, he'd assaulted one of their own. One of them, to his right, was an unidentified turian, while the one on his left, with his finger closer to the trigger, was a human. Jordan didn't quite care much for them, to be honest.

After some quick paperwork was filed, and his omni-tool was reactivated, he followed the turian officer with the other following closely behind. Jordan peered to the side and noticed a seemingly fuming Detective Vakerian, probably wondering how some criminal like him was getting out of here, even with an escort.

Following the turian, they quickly exited the building and made their way to a C-Sec shuttle, where he was promptly taken aboard and whisked away to wherever they were taking him. Jordan assumed this was the Shadow Broker's doing, but he wasn't completely sure.

He'd taken a huge risk reaching out to the shadow broker, but he was running out of options. He needed to get off of the Citadel and to the geth as soon as possible, that way he could begin moving things along and changing the galaxy's fate. Who knows, maybe he'll even save Shepard's life along the way as a consequence of interfering.

After a few minutes of silence, they quickly arrived at their destination, forcing Jordan back out of the vehicle with his arms still cuffed behind him.

They were now somewhere on the Presidium, far away from the C-Sec HQ. The three of them exited the vehicle, walking down the mostly deserted street as they made their way to the financial district. After entering the district a ways, they entered a small bank.

Waiting there, behind a desk inside the front lobby, was an older woman. Her hair was gray, and she wore a dark green dress, seeing as she was one of the accountants here, seemingly. She smiled at them for a moment, before making eye contact with Jordan for a moment, which caused her to frown. She rose from the desk and quickly made her way to the three of them.

"Jordan Amadeus Sower, what on earth were you thinking?" She yelled at him, giving him a stern, motherly look. "You had me worried sick! And what's this I hear? You broke into C-Sec, tried to steal something, and called my boss to bail you out?!" She continued lecturing, her voice raising as she finished.

Jordan looked down in shame, "S-sorry?" He offered, kind of confused for a moment, before he caught on to what was really going on. He looked up and frown, trying to make his shame appear even greater, "I'm sorry mom."

She scowled and him and shook her head, before turning to the turian officer, "Don't worry officer, I'll make sure he's properly punished for what he's done."

The human officer nodded, "Of course ma'am, just be thankful that we're willing to let this minor delinquent's crimes go this time. However, we have his DNA on record now. If he so much as bumps another officer, there won't be another release."

"Of course, officer. I apologize for my son's misbehavior. He should know better than that!"

Jordan nodded, "Sorry officers, it won't happen again." He responded, looking at both of them as he apologized. The turian had some sort of humor dancing in his eyes, while the human still seemed bewildered by the fact that Jordan was getting out scot-free after assaulting an officer and trying to steal a ship. However, the human didn't question it and nodded regardless.

"If there's nothing else needed, officers, I'd like to continue scolding my son… in private." She said, slipping a hand up and onto Jordan's shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

The turian nodded and then proceeded to unlock Jordan's cuffs, taking them with him as he went. "That'll be all, ma'am." The officer said, before turning around and leaving with his partner.

As soon as they were gone from sight, her arm dropped back off of his shoulder, both arms locking behind her back as her expression hardened. Her eyes became less harsh but more resolute and neutral, "You're lucky. The Broker doesn't often deal with things in this manner."

Jordan turned around for a moment, before turning back to her, "Wait. So was that… I mean, was the officer… Was that turian… you know?"

She nodded, "Of course, and so were a few others in C-sec, but you already know this. How else would you have gotten out without spending at least a few months in there, waiting to go to court?"

"I… I see…"

"What you did, regardless of your reasons, was foolish and idiotic. Your intel better be good…"

Jordan straightened his posture, "It is." He tried to assure both her and himself. Hopefully, he could make this work...

"Good. Now, if you'll follow me…" She said, turning around and heading towards the back of the bank, towards a large office. Jordan followed closely like she asked, quickly arriving in a large, well-decorated office.

"Jordan Sower is here, sir." She announced to the empty room, before turning around and leaving. As soon as she left, the doors shut and locked behind her. The lights dimmed slightly as a holographic projector came to life on the desk. He could make out a vague, dark humanoid figure, but knew full well that he wasn't speaking to a human. It was a Yahg. The yahg.

The Shadow Broker.

**"Jordan Sower. At last, we meet."**

Jordan nodded, but then remembered that he might not be able to see him. Maybe he could, or maybe he couldn't. Regardless, he should probably show respect and respond verbally before he grows impatient.

"Yes, sir." He said.

 **"Your records are… inconclusive. Very few can keep information from me, Mister Sower. This is one of the reasons I was willing to hear you out. Be warned. You know who you are dealing with. If anything you say is either a waste of time or a lie, my agents will return you to C-Sec immediately… in a body bag."** Jordan gulped in fear, the implications of his actions finally coming back to him. **"Understood?"** Jordan nodded, not trusting his voice for the moment. **"Good. Let's begin with payment for your release. Release from C-Sec is not very expensive in most cases. However, you managed to piss off every officer on the station with your actions. I don't need them explained to me, but you should know that it costs a great deal of credits to move those mountains."**

"I… I understand. I have some important information on Cerberus. I know you and the organization have been known to butt heads, so I figured you'd be interested."

 **"I see. You know much more than most would assume. It is true, Cerberus has been hard to infiltrate, but not impossible."** The Broker paused for a moment, **"If you are here to tell me information about the organization, save your breath. I'm only interested in projects, cells, and anything on the Illusive Man."**

"I know of a few projects and cells."

 **"Elaborate."** He replied simply.

Jordan paused as he began to recall any of the minor cells and projects that he could. Something that the Broker might not know, but something that wouldn't change things too much if it were stopped or messed with in any sort of way.

He thought for a moment until he remembered something. "In the Minos Wasteland, within the Arrae system is a planet of interest: Gellix. There, a Cerberus project is underway. I am unsure of the specifics, but I know that it's there."

**"Interesting. I have agents in that nebula. I will send them by for reconnaissance. If this proves factual, I will consider half of your debt paid. I need more. Give me another location or project."**

"Firewalker."

The Broker didn't respond, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Project Firewalker, if it hasn't begun yet it will begin soon. They will be testing and developing a prototype ground transport vehicle that will succeed the M35 Mako, called the M-44 Hammerhead. It contains an onboard VI system and is built with jets to allow it to hover easily over obstacles and debris. The project will utilize it in the recovery of Prothean artifacts."

 **"Firewalker. I have heard murmurs of the name. We will investigate further. Perhaps this wasn't a waste of time…"** The Broker said, pausing for a moment, **"My agents in the building will set up a... 'room' for the night for you. By morning, I'll have confirmation from my agents and we will deal with you. I'm very interested in how you got this, however, Mister Sower, but I'm sure you'd be more than willing to elaborate... Good night, Mister Sower. Broker out."**

Jordan exhaled in relief after the display turned back off.

"That wasn't so bad…" He whispered to himself.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Barla Von's Office.**

**January 2nd, 2183. 11:30 am. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan stood once more in Barla Von's office, the familiar volus outside of the room as per the request of the Shadow Broker.

Following the conversation of the previous evening, Jordan retired to a room upstairs, under constant guard in case he was to attempt to double-cross the broker.

This morning, after waking and being kept within that specific room for several hours, he'd been requested back in Barla Von's office to speak with the Broker once more.

Standing there as the lights dimmed and the doors sealed, Jordan patiently awaited the Shadow Broker's false hologram. Soon enough, it appeared in the exact same fashion as the day before.

 **"Ahh, Mister Sower. I assume you wish to know how your intel turned out?"** He asked rhetorically.

Jordan nodded, "Y-yes sir."

**"You've never done this before, have you? Intriguing. Now, however you got your information, it's solid. Agents have detected low-frequency comm chatter with Cerberus encryptions coming from Gellix. As for the other project, we have confirmed its existence as well, though this was much easier to come across."**

"So, my debt is paid?" Jordan asked, hoping he'd be done now.

**"I suppose it is... However, there's something that doesn't make much sense to me. You understood who I was and what I do, yet you reached out to me, rather than a bail service. Sure, your accounts lack the current funds to do so, but that opportunity was still possible. So, the question remains. Why exactly did you seek me out? You certainly have valuable knowledge, Mr. Sower. And knowledge is power."**

Jordan swallowed and hesitated.

**"I am a great many things, Mister Sower, but eternally patient is not one of them. What do you want? Everyone wants something."**

"I need transport." Jordan blurted out.

**"I see… and where do you need transport to? Earth? Terra Nova? Omega, even?"**

"I… I'd rather not…"

**"Someplace you shouldn't go, then? Very intriguing. I assume that means you require a spaceworthy, Relay-able shuttle with an auto-piloting VI?"**

Jordan felt the blood drain from his face and his eyes widen involuntarily. "H-how did you…?"

**"Information is my business, Jordan. It wasn't difficult, putting the details of your arrest together was quite simple, really. Now, with that out of the way, let's talk payment…"**

"Payment?"

**"Of course. Now, considering what you need, and the fact that you're desperate to have it, I will require something worth my time. Both pieces of intel you gave me, while worth quite a bit, was not that hard to come by. I could have easily sent agents around to find this out without your information. So… do you have anything worth my time?"**

"I… I don't…"

**"Now, now. Think very carefully before you answer. You see, we might not have much on you, but what we do paints a very interesting tale. Appearing out of thin air from the Keeper tunnels? No ID? And with a dead man's omni-tool, no less… Perhaps a Narvhalnic would calm your nerves. I hear you're quite partial to those."**

"E-enough!" Jordan interrupted, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He hadn't been here for even a week and the Broker already had all of that. This was a mistake. He should never have contacted Barla Von… Should have never tried to get help from the Shadow Broker. Jordan needed that ride, but even if he didn't, he couldn't just refuse the Broker. People who did that tended to have a much shorter lifespan.

"I… I might have something… I need current intel on Eden Prime first, though. Just to be sure…" Jordan finally said. 'Fuck, please forgive me, Shepard.' Jordan begged internally.

 **"Alright. I'll play your game. Eden Prime is a human colony, something of a symbol for humanity. Many consider it a paradise. Pristine and beautiful. The population of this garden world is approaching the 4th million, and the vast majority of its inhabitants, to no one's surprise, are human. However… there have been many reports of Prothean ruins on Eden Prime, and increases in archeological activity have hinted at new discoveries. Or, at least, that's what the officials claim. Otherwise, Alliance presence on the colony has increased by nearly 50% over the past few days and scientists at the dig sites have encountered censorship from officials. Is that enough?"** The Broker asked, clearly beginning to lose patience.

Jordan nodded but internally frowned. If the information about the protheans is recent, that means that Mass Effect would be beginning any day now. Should he really be doing this? Probably not... but it's too late to turn back now. He cursed himself internally once more before he finally exhaled, ready to say the words he'd surely regret.

"There's going to be an attack."

**"What gave it away? The increase in Alliance presence? The increase in the size of the 212th on Eden Prime? Or perhaps it was the all-important prothean research going on, that would make anyone a major target if found with those priceless artifacts?"**

Jordan swallowed. Moment of truth. "It's the geth."

At that, the Broker went silent. Silence rained in the room for several moments, before Jordan repeated himself, "It's the geth."

**"I heard you… the geth? You're telling me that the geth are targeting Eden Prime and their prothean dig sites? That the geth are soon going to be attacking a human colony? The same geth that haven't been seen beyond the Perseus Veil in several centuries?"**

"And Saren Arterius is leading them."

 **"Saren Arterius? The Council Spectre?"** The Broker continued asking questions, sounding more and more doubtful with each one asked. **"I have seen no signs of this. Nothing to even suggest that what you're saying is within the realm of possibility, other than the fact that my agents had lost track of Saren about a week ago."**

Jordan became bolder. Time to make a move, "How about a wager, then?"

**"...Go on..."**

"I'll be staying on the Citadel, making no attempt to leave. Within one week, I predict that what I claimed will come to pass and that my intel is flawless. If I'm right, you get me the shuttle that I need."

**"And if you're wrong?"**

"My life. If I'm wrong, you can do what you want with me. Interrogate me, torture me, even kill me. You know I have more information. My life is in your hands." This could go south so quickly...

**"I see. And what is stopping me from simply taking you here and now to torture the rest of the information out of you?"**

"Nothing. But information gathered through force can take more time than if given willingly." Jordan swallowed, before taking another breath and continuing, "And... I know you're a man of business. I can be..." He frowned as he forced himself to finished, "... I can be a valuable asset..."

 **"That may be... occasionally true… Alright, Mr. Sower, I'll take that wager, but I'm adjusting it. If you are correct, you will work for me. Gathering more intelligence and sharing what you know or find. It shouldn't be too hard for you. After all, I'm sure you weren't planning on disappearing once you got a shuttle, otherwise, you would have never gotten yourself into this position."** He paused for a moment.

**"One week, Mr. Sower. My agents will be in contact."**

And with that, the connection was cut.

Jordan was risking a lot with this, but he knew he was right. And, if worst comes to worst and the attack on Eden Prime never happens, then perhaps spilling secrets to the Shadow Broker in an attempt to change things even further couldn't hurt. Hopefully, everything would work out and he'd get the shuttle he needed.

Jordan crossed his fingers and stepped outside, nodding to Barla Von as he passed him by in the hallway. Jordan took a few more deep breaths before exiting the building.

Maybe the Broker was right... Maybe a cup of Narvhalnic would calm his nerves a bit...


	5. Chapter 4: The beginning of the End

** Chapter 4: The Beginning of the End **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Voniferus Café**

**January 5th, 2183. 2:02 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan sat at his usual table overlooking the Presidium, drinking his preferred beverage of Raelli'vu Narvhalnic. Regardless of anyone's opinion, (Especially the turian coupled that had been giving him dirty looks) that shit was amazing. He still technically had three days until shit hit the fan, so to speak, but that didn't stop the doubts from creeping in.

What if he'd changed something inadvertently, preventing the attack from Eden Prime and Shepard from getting the visions from the beacon?

What if the Broker saved the colony, preventing everything?

What if there are others like him that came to change things, and did?

What if the games were wrong?

Jordan had no idea. This was all new to him. He didn't have any real knowledge of this universe aside from the games. His real-life experience never really reached great heights thanks to his age and lack of experience. What was he supposed to do?! He wasn't sure. Not one bit.

Sitting there, taking another sip of his, now favorite, drink, Jordan noticed the asari barista was cleaning off the table next to then, still covered in empty drink cups and garbage. Jordan felt bad for her. Seems that even in another universe in the future, there are plenty of assholes who feel like they couldn't spend two extra seconds cleaning up after themselves and making people work extra hard at places like this. Seriously, how hard is it to throw away your trash on your way out?

Jordan, however, continuing drinking his 'coffee' as he sent a friendly smile to the asari. She smiled back once she noticed, before finishing up at the table and returning back behind the counter. She was nice. Not really his type or anything like that, but still… nice. She didn't deserve all this extra work.

As he sat there, contemplating, Jordan's attention was grabbed by a nearby holo-screen. In fact, all of the holo-screens around him sprung to life as whatever program they were originally airing was replaced with breaking news.

The sound of various news stations' breaking news jingles played in chaotic sync as they all said the exact same thing in unison.

 _"Breaking news! Eden Prime has been attacked!"_ A male voice announced on the closest screen. Other nearby ones saying virtually the same thing by different newscasters.

Jordan coughed on his Narvhalnic, choking slightly as it entered the wrong pipe. After a few moments of slight panic, Jordan turned his attention to the loudest and largest screen nearby, which was also located near the counter.

_"According to Alliance sources, at approximately 1800 hours Earth Standard Time last evening, Eden Prime was attacked by a large and overwhelming force. Sources from the colony, itself, have revealed that the attackers were none other than the geth, the race of synthetic AIs created by the quarians centuries ago. Although little else has been confirmed, we know that the city of Charlotte has casualties in the thousands, but the colony, in general, was saved. We have…"_

Jordan turned his attention away from the screen as he stared down into his half-empty cup of Narvhalnic. This was his fault. He could have warned the colony. He could have tried to save them. Instead, the colony had lost thousands of people. Ashley lost her entire squad... All because of a stupid, damned wager.

He squeezed his cup slightly in anger at himself, "Fuck." He whispered.

At least he won the wager…

He continued sitting there though, unwilling to leave when he was still enjoying this delectable treat. He knew he'd have to go talk to the broker against soon now that this news was now mainstream but screw that. He just wanted a few more minutes to himself before he had things to do. However, this was short-lived when his omni-tool buzzed with an incoming call. Jordan sighed, placing his drink down before him and answering the call.

"Jordan Sower, here." He responded, before grabbing his cup once more and taking another sip.

"Ahh… *tssh*, Mister Sower. I hope I haven't called at a bad time."

"Barla Von. Am I to assume that you've seen the news?"

"That *tshh* would be a wise assumption. My *tssh* employer wishes to speak with you about your *tssh* wager."

"I'll be on my way shortly."

"Your cup of *tssh* Narvhalnic can come with you. Time is of the *tssh* essence, Mister Sower."

Jordan sighed, "Alright, on my way now…"

"Wise decision. *tssh* I'll be seeing you shortly. Goodbye."

The call ended and Jordan stood up with his drink still in his hand. He waved goodbye to the barista and started his short, five-minute walk to Barla Von's office. Quickly entering and passing through the financial district, Jordan made his way into the volus' 'bank', entering the hallway and reaching the volus' office. It was there that he saw the volus, waiting for him.

Jordan furrowed his brows in confusion as the doors locks and the holographic projector came to life with Barla Von still inside the room, but he didn't question it. Perhaps the Broker was needed to speak with them together? Regardless, Jordan took the final sip of his drink, before throwing the trash in a nearby garbage can next to Barla Von's desk. Hopefully, this wouldn't be a double cross…

Soon enough, the projector came to life.

**"Jordan Sower. Barla Von. Excellent timing."**

"Of course, sir. *tssh* The office is secured."

 **"I expected no less."** He said simply before his display turned towards Jordan, **"Sower. You were, again, correct. The Geth have attacked Eden Prime, and I have agents preparing to meet with an individual who has evidence that Saren was behind the attack."** He informed him vaguely, telling Jordan that Tali was now aboard the Citadel. All that remained to arrive now was Shepard and the Normandy. **"I believe we had a deal, yes?"**

Jordan's heart began beating faster from the stress. Maybe this was all going to work out for him? He sure hoped so! "Y-yes, sir. An auto-piloting shuttle."

 **"Don't be so nervous. I'm a man of my word. What would it look like if the Shadow Broker spread false information and didn't keep his word?"** He asked rhetorically, though it didn't really alleviate his fears. The Broker's image turned its head to Barla Von, **"Barla Von, funds have been transferred to your account for the purchase of a UT-45 Kodiak with a piloting VI installed in the cockpit. I want the purchase done within the day, and the shuttle prepped within a galactic standard week."**

Barla Von nodded, "Of course, sir. *tssh* It will be done within the hour."

 **"Good."** The avatar now turned towards Jordan, **"Now, I believe the deal was for the shuttle and VI system, but nothing was said about fuel and docking rights on the Citadel."** He gladly informed Jordan, making him internally curse. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. He'd have to give something else to the Broker if we wanted to get off the station.

Jordan swallowed and slowly nodded, "O-of course. I assume the payment will be in information?"

**"Yes, glad to know you are beginning to catch on. You seem to know some things about the attack on Eden Prime, which was unknown to even me. You obviously have more relevant information on what's going on. I'll accept that as payment. Be warned, you may have been telling the truth so far, but a lie here and now will cancel all of our deals. Think carefully…"**

Jordan had to be really careful here. If he revealed something that shouldn't be revealed yet, it could drastically change everything. He needed to give him relevant information that he might soon learn anyway. Something that couldn't be changed so quickly.

"On Eden Prime was a Prothean Beacon. It was the reason behind the attack."

**"Yes, I know. I have eyes and ears everywhere. As soon as the SSV Normandy cleared Eden Prime's atmosphere, we learned of the beacon. What else?"**

"Fist betrayed you for Saren."

**"Which is being taken care of. Try again."**

'Shit, now he knows that I know way too much. This is getting worse…' Jordan thought. Even Barla Von was watching Jordan carefully. This wasn't good. He took a deep breath and finally spoke, praying this wasn't going to bite him in the ass.

"There's a Cerberus agent on the Citadel."

**"Go on."**

"She's… she's here to try to take Fist for Cerberus and gather intel on what happened on Eden Prime. When the Normandy arrives, she'll pretend to be an Alliance psychologist, I think the cover name will be Captain Channing. She'll have red hair, wear glasses, and have darker skin. She will try to get information from Gunnery Chief Ashely Williams during a 'psychological evaluation'." He finished, hoping to God that nothing would happen and he'd simply confirm this. He prayed that nothing will happen as a result. He did, after all, kinda rat out Maya Brooks...

**"I see… I will confirm this. The Normandy will be arriving within the next hour. If what you say is true, then the Shuttle will be fully prepped for you. That is all. Dismissed."**

And with that, the hologram switched off and the lights came back on as the door unlocked. Jordan turned to Barla Von as the volus turned toward him.

"*tssh* I will contact you when the transaction is complete. *tssh* Good day, Mister Sower."

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Voniferus Café**

**January 5th, 2183. 4:18 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Back once again, in his favorite café on the Citadel, Jordan sat nursing yet another cup of Narvhalnic. He swore that there must be some sort of addictive substance in the beverage other than caffeine, but the barista repeatedly assured him that there wasn't, along with various extranet sites echoing her words. Regardless, he simply couldn't help but indulge in the heavenly ambrosia, taking yet another sip of the liquid gold.

He took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the non-satisfying artificial air that was the Citadel's recycled air. Today was going fairly well, all things considered.

Barla Von called thirty minutes ago, confirming the purchase of the shuttle, just like he said he would. However, to throw a small monkey wrench into things, it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow.

Once or twice, he swore he saw Commander John Shepard. Once walking towards the embassies in the distance, and another time walking towards the closer Citadel Tower. However, he refrained from approaching him and his group of Alliance personnel. He did, however, catch Shepard's attention for a moment or two, smiling at him. Hopefully, that wasn't considered suspicious enough to warrant an investigation or encounter… Damn, was he paranoid now...

Finally, it seems that everything worked out with the Shadow Broker. He got an anonymous message shortly after Barla Von confirmed the purchase, simply reading:

_"Your intel was worth the price given. We look forward to future cooperation. Have a nice day."_

He smiled to himself as he finished his beverage. Hell, he'd even found an additional 200 credits in his account the other day, likely as a result of his continued relationship with the Broker, which would hopefully be coming to an end soon… not that he'd probably let Jordan go willingly, but who knows.

Jordan enjoyed his afternoon in relative peace, hearing a few commotions here and there around him, likely involving the soon-to-be Spectre Shepard, running around and solving problems. He could've sworn at one point Jordan heard the holo-screen in the café warn civilians about a shooting in the wards in Chora's Den, killing nearly everyone inside.

Guess Wrex and Garrus are recruited, and they must now be on their way to Tali if they don't already have her.

There goes any opportunity to join up with Shepard, but that's fine. Jordan didn't have any combat experience, and his experiences with a gun never really advanced to the level that Shepard would want.

Jordan sat there, enjoying his pleasant afternoon for a while longer, before his quite introspection was cut off by loud cheering around him. Not knowing what this was exactly about, he looked up and saw the holo-screen displaying Commander Shepard on screen, with Ashley Williams and Garrus Vakarian on either side of him.

_"Commander John Shepard of the System's Alliance has just been named as humanity's first Council Spectre. Though his first mission as a Spectre is classified, many speculate it may have something to do with the attack on Eden Prime. Regardless of his mission, this high honor was well deserved, after his illustrious service within the Alliance."_

Jordan smiled and nodded, clapping along with the others around him. Despite him being new to this world still, he couldn't help the infectious pride he felt for humanity. He was human. And he was now better represented in this universe. It helped him feel more at home here… more accepting of his circumstances, if just barely.

He stood up, sending a quick tip to the friendly barista, nodding and smiling to her as he threw his trash away and began walking back towards The Olympus, where he'd be staying tonight. Thanks to the Shadow Broker wanting to keep him on a short leash, he'd had his room paid for by Broker agents for the past several days. Rather than take the skycars, he decided on the relatively longer walk, enjoying the sites, as this may very well be his final time on the Citadel for years.

He was on his way, walking with the crowds, before accidentally bumping into someone while he was lost in thought, staring out at the beautiful lake. Jordan fell onto his ass hard, before frowning and shaking his head. He wasn't going to cause a scene with whoever ran into him, but it seemed the other person wanted to do just that.

"We have a problem, human?" A deep, rumbling voice asked him angrily. Jordan's frown deepened as he looked up to the perpetrator before his mouth went dry and his face drained of blood.

Standing above him was Urdnot Wrex, with a snarl formed as he looked down at him, seemingly ready to tear him limb from limb for being stupid enough to run into him.

"I-I… I, uh, umm… I didn't…" Jordan tried to respond, but couldn't quite get the words out.

Wrex didn't seem amused, however. He leaned in a bit closer as he closed the distance with a single step. Jordan could almost hear Mass Effect combat music as his hands begun to shake in fear. This wasn't good. "Spit it out, human, I don't have all day. You really want to know what happens to people who waste my time?"

Before Jordan could speak, someone else did from behind Wrex, "That's enough Wrex. Leave the poor guy alone."

Wrex grumbled but obliged, moving to the side and revealing who spoke. Standing there was Lt. Kaiden Alenko, wearing a set of black light armor. He smiled warmly towards Jordan and stepped forward, reaching a hand out to him, which Jordan took before being lifted back to his feet.

"Th-thanks…" Jordan said, still slightly shook up from the bloodthirsty look Wrex had given him for simply bumping into the krogan.

Kaiden nodded, "No problem kid." He turned to Wrex, "Come on, Wrex, we still need to get you back to the ship."

Wrex simply grunted in response, before they turned away and continued walking towards where the Normandy likely was. As soon as they were out of sight, Jordan leaned against a nearby wall and let out a breath he'd been holding in.

He'd just ran into Wrex and Kaiden.

Fuck, and he'd almost ended up as the krogan's lunch.

Jordan took a few deep breaths to calm down, before continuing his journey to the hotel. Hopefully nothing else eventful would happen for the rest of the evening. He could be hopeful, right?

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Dock B-25**

**January 6th, 2183. 12:01 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

So there Jordan was, standing before his small Kodiak shuttle, fully fueled and ready to take off.

Just as Barla Von and the Broker promised, the shuttle was ready today, fully stocked up with some food, water, and the pilot VI that was necessary to reach the Perseus Veil. Everything seemed to be working out well for Jordan now, all things considered. Sure, he'd had trouble with C-Sec and the Broker before… but now everything seemed to be worked out.

He nodded to the two dock workers, who were likely agents of the Broker, as he approached the Kodiak. It was time to go.

One of them stepped to the side, while the other, another human, stepped up to Jordan. "The Broker sends his regards, and would like to remind you that he'll be in touch."

Jordan swallowed the lump forming in his throat, and nodded, "O-of course."

The agent chuckled, "Hehe, just don't piss off the Broker and we won't have any trouble."

Jordan nodded, "Yes, alright. Sounds simple enough."

"Hehe, right… anyway, so long… he'll keep in touch..." The agent finished, motioning towards Jordan's omni-tool with a not-very-friendly smile.

With that, both 'workers' collected their items and left the dock, leaving Jordan relatively alone in the small docking bay. He approached the shuttle's door, noticing a red holographic circular icon, indicating that the shuttle was locked. He crossed his fingers and waved his omni-tool over the lock, silently commanding it to unlock the door using the codes transferred to him this morning.

After a moment was sent processing, the light turned green and the door slid open, revealing the familiar interior of a Kodiak shuttle, as seen in Mass Effect 2 and 3. Jordan slowly stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind him slowly as the lights turned on. Although it easily sits over half the ground team in Mass Effect 2, Jordan couldn't help but feel that the shuttle would be cramped if he had any more people.

Slowly but surely, after verifying his stores of food and water, Jordan made his way to the cockpit, sitting down in the pilot's seat and dropping his only other change of clothes in the passenger seat beside him.

"Alright… let's see if I can figure this out…" Jordan whispered to himself. He reached out hesitantly, pressing a button that seemed to resemble an 'on switch'.

Sure enough, the display and controls came to life, lighting up the cockpit and making sounds as the whole vehicle began to start up.

 _"Welcome to your new, UT-45 Kodiak, Jordan Sower. I am the VI software required to pilot the spacecraft, your Auto-Piloting Intelligence, designation: API."_ The speakers sounded out throughout the shuttle.

"Uh, how do you know my name?" Jordan asked, staring at the controls.

 _"Your omni-tool is equipped with a virtual identification, allowing this intelligence to read it and know your basic information. Most standard VIs and omni-tools come with this standard feature."_ The female-sounding VI responded helpfully.

"Of course it can read my ID." He whispered to himself, feeling stupid. He'd forgotten that the advertisements on the Citadel do the same thing. He really shouldn't have been surprised. "Alright… API… prepare for takeoff?"

 _"Of course, Jordan. Please, plot a course on the galaxy map."_ It said before said galaxy map appeared before him.

It wasn't as large or magnificent as the one on the Normandy, but it functioned well enough, he supposed. He noted his location, the Serpent Nebula. From here, Rannoch is all the way, clear across the galaxy. He looked for the Perseus Veil or even the Far Rim, but neither appeared where they should have been on the map, meaning he was probably discouraged to go there… but he had to!

Thinking carefully, he remembered where he'd have to travel to first. The nebula that connected to geth-controlled space. The Phoenix Massing.

He selected this as his destination, and the computer helpfully informed him that this destination would take five relay jumps, use up half of the fuel reserves, and take approximately ten hours to reach. From there, he'd likely have an additional one or two hours to the Perseus Veil. He'd figure it out from there, though. In all likelihood, the Broker was probably tracking him, so if he put in Rannoch as his destination, that'd probably raise some red flags.

Taking a deep breath, he confirmed his destination.

 _"Coordinates locked in. Destination: The Phoenix Massing Nebula. Estimated time of arrival: nine hours and fourth-seven minutes."_ API announced, as the shuttle rocked and prepared to take off.

Now, with time on his hands, Jordan stood up, "Thanks API. Notify me when we arrive."

_"Yes."_

As soon as she… it acknowledged him, Jordan departed the cockpit, laying down on the partially comfortable bench, ready to sleep away most of the ride. He closed his eyes and calmed himself, ready to finally begin his quest. Everything had gotten way too complicated way too quickly on the Citadel, especially since this whole thing was against his will. But now, he might as well fully embrace this universe and get to work. It's kind of like a dream come true… kinda.

But now? Now he was ready to truly begin his adventure.

He was the Avatar of Synthesis, whether he wanted to be or not. Pulled from his world and into this one, with the hope that he'd get to the Crucible and force Synthesis on the entire galaxy, simply because the Catalyst demanded it. Well, fuck the Catalyst.

He's going to go to the geth, get their help, learn to fight, and help save the galaxy with Shepard, changing the events as best as he could to save as many lives as possible!

The end was coming for the galaxy now. This was simply the beginning… the beginning of the end…

And Jordan was ready!

Laying there, he silently told his omni-tool to set an alarm for nine hours from now and to download recent news articles for him to check out when he woke up. It'd make everything much easier on him, knowing what's going on around him.

He knew, thanks to his experience so far, that his omni-tool did just that. He smiled and slowly slipped away, letting sleep and darkness take away his consciousness.

Yeah… the beginning of the end of the cycle…


	6. Current Events I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Occasionally, there will be a 'Current Events' Chapter, discussing and talking about content that isn't readily seen from my Charater's perspective, but he does learn about. At least, some of it. It may be news articles, it may be quick snippets at things happening elsewhere in the galaxy. It may be messages. Overall, its important information for the story. There aren't a ton of them, but here you go...

** Chapter 4.5: Breaking News (Current Events I)  
**

* * *

** End of an Age? Colonial Future in Jeopardy? **

Two days ago, Eden Prime, one of humanity's first extra-solar colonies, was attacked by what is being claimed to have been geth forces. Geth, artificial intelligence created by the quarian people three centuries ago, have not been seen beyond the Perseus Veil since their conquest of the quarian home system. As of the time of publication, the Council claims to have no leads on the purpose of this attack, but have assured the public that they are doing everything in their power to solve this conundrum.

Unsurprisingly, colonial backers within the Alliance have called for decreases in colonial funding in the wake of this devastating attack that has claimed the lives of an estimated one-hundred thousand or more civilians, along with several platoons of soldiers. Additionally, companies, including ExoGeni Corporation, have begun hiring more security officers while seemingly halting future plans for more colonies.

As tensions mount on other colonies, additional funding for future endeavors is now being funneled into Eden Prime for reconstruction efforts as a result of the attack. The Alliance has formally requested emergency aid from the council but has been denied any sort of aid. Councilor Tevos said, and quote:

_"While the loss of human lives on Eden Prime is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to those who are suffering through these tough times with the loss of loved ones, the Council will be unable to render any sort of aid. Humanity was well aware of the risks involved with extra-solar colonization, especially on the border of the Terminus Systems, and any action taken could lead to more lives lost. As of this moment, we will be unable to lend any assistance…"_

Anonymous sources claim that the Council and Alliance may have been aware of the attack in advance, but this had been adamantly denied by officials of both parties. However, when rumor said a rogue Spectre was involved with the attack, the Council refused to answer the question. As a likely result of this, the Council's approval rating within Human groups both on the Earth and in the colonies has dropped by 26%, while other species have dropped by an average of 5%.

While coverage of the truth behind the Eden Prime attack is still spotty and disorganized, the fact remains that the future of human colonies as at risk because of this attack. Though many officials believe this is only a 'temporary setback', others are skeptical that…

* * *

** Citadel Spy Killed. Who was she and who did she work for? **

Yesterday afternoon, a woman in an Alliance uniform was murdered in broad daylight on the Presidium. The woman in question, identified by her omni-tool as Captain Channing, raises several questions.

At approximately 3:25 pm, Citadel Time, Captain Channing was walking in the Presidium, heading towards a debriefing and psychological analysis for Alliance personnel after the attack on Eden Prime. At this point, passing by the lake outside of the embassies, a single shot rang out, piercing the woman's heart and killing her instantly. Countless witnesses heard the shot and watched her fall, but no one has been able to locate or identify the shooter.

According to C-Sec personnel, 'Captain Channing' is simply an alias. A fake name used by what appears to be a spy of some kind. Using their DNA records, and with assistance from the Alliance and human embassy, their search came back as a negative, her existence seemingly erased.

Any attempts so far at learning her true identity have ended in failure, making officials wary of this event and the possibility of future similar attacks. Data pulled from security cameras around the Citadel have also revealed shocking evidence that this individual has been on the Citadel for days now, performing odd tasks, including calling C-Sec about a Krogan Warlord.

Though little is known about her, there are rumors spreading that she was a member of a terrorist organization called Cerberus. This organization, though not well known amongst the public, is a human-first organization, willing to subjugate every other race in order to further its agenda. Their leader, known only as the Illusive Man, has publically announced in the past what his organization stands for. Not much is known about this man, other than he is at the top of the Alliance's Most Wanted list, with a bounty of over five million credits for those who can provide any information as to his location.

Even if these rumors were true, it still changes little of the facts and only answers a few questions. Officials are still asking. Who is she really? Who killed her? Why? Was this possibly a batarian response to the assassination of ambassador Jath'Amon, a batarian diplomat advocating peace between batarians and humans? It's possible but unlikely.

These are questions even we ask, but have not received many answers for as of yet. This 'Cerberus Spy', as people have begun to reference her as, is being investigated by top officials on the Citadel, looking for any clues to those answers…

* * *

** Prothean Orbs? Discovery of Odd 'Artifacts' Sparks Extensive Research. **

Prothean research continues to remain one of the most popular and extensive fields of today and with good reason. The protheans have created the Mass Relay system, the Citadel, and even massive information banks and beacons. However, with a recent discovery at the hands of Doctor Garret Bryson, they may have created yet another type of device.

Nicknamed 'Orbs' or 'Artifacts', these devices have been located and discovered in three separate locations so far, with each of them nearly identical to the others. Doctor Garret Bryson, having stumbled upon these orbs, claims that although they may appear to be prothean in origin to some, they may be far more ancient than that. The doctor told us in an interview:

_"These artifacts are astounding. With locations in three separate systems so far, these artifacts point to the origin of a spacefaring race much older than us. Normally, we might assume that these were created by the protheans, but that seems to be a false assumption. We've uncovered, in locations nearby to each of these artifacts, cave paintings, and tablets that point to a new, never-before-discovered interstellar species. This new species, we're calling the Leviathans, seem to appear aquatic in nature, and resemble earth squids."_

To back up his claims, Doctor Bryson revealed pictures of these paintings and tablets, showing the odd images of these 'Leviathans'. Since these paintings have been present at each of the three sites discovered so far, the Council has moved in a unanimous decision to provide funds to study these artifacts, as they seem to point to a new, undiscovered ancient species that may have accompanied the protheans. As a result of this decision, representatives from each Council species has joined the research effort, working to discover more artifacts and sites.

When asked what these artifacts are and if they are dangerous, Doctor Bryson assured everyone that precautions were being taken to maintain the safety of the staff.

_"We detected faint, quantum-level pulses occasionally radiating from the artifacts. Although seemingly harmless, we have taken every precaution available to us, including extensive shielding technology, preventing the pulses from escaping the confinement of the cases holding these artifacts."_

As of this point, not much is known about the artifacts and their exact purpose, but this 'Task Force Aurora' assures the public that they will notify them of any new discoveries.

Experts galaxy-wide agree that this discovery could very well change the way we view prothean-era society and could have wide-impacting implications to what we already deem as fact…


	7. Chapter 5: Reaching Consensus

** Chapter 5: Reaching Consensus  
**

* * *

**The Phoenix Massing, Tassrah, Mass Relay**

**January 6th, 2183. 10:39 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan sat in the cockpit once more as he stared out at the space surrounding the shuttle, absentmindedly fiddling with his omni-tool.

Well, not really. Rather, he was looking out at space through the holographically projected images on the inside of the cockpit, making it feel like he was almost looking through glass. In the distance floated the stunning image of a Mass Relay, the one the shuttle was currently orbiting.

He'd been awake for a few hours, now, and had arrived in the system nearly thirty minutes ago, simply floating around and waiting to proceed. He looked down at his omni-tool, which was currently connected to a comm buoy orbiting the relay as well, connecting him to the extranet as it proceeded to download gigabytes upon gigabytes of songs and music from his own time period. You know, the important stuff.

Surprisingly enough, it seemed almost like everything that happened in his life in the old universe was copied over to this one. Well, everything except for himself. The Sower family didn't exist in this galaxy, making him the only one in his family, period. In fact, he barely even found any other people sharing his last name that were even unrelated. It was actually quite disheartening, but he continued pushing forward.

In order to pass the time, he'd been experimenting with his omni-tool and newfound abilities thanks to being synthesized by the Catalyst. Not only could he interface with his omni-tool with his thoughts, but it could interface with him in return. This means that he'd be able to 'listen' to music in his head, without it actually playing aloud for anyone to hear. Or, at least, that was his working and untested theory.

If this was the way it worked with all technology, not just his omni-tool, imagine the ramifications! He could receive quick bursts of information without having to read or listen to it. Maybe he could even learn to silently send written messages without even typing it out. Secret messages! Sure, it seemed equally frightening, but the possibilities made it even more exciting.

And then there were the news updates… those articles…

Shit's really hit the proverbial fan now.

The Leviathans? Already? There wasn't supposed to be any research into them yet! That was Mass Effect 3 territory! And the Council? Something tells Jordan that informing the Borker about Eden Prime caused him to act differently, making the Council's approval rating fall drastically.

And finally, the worst of it all?

Maya Brooks is dead. That means someone else will need to build Shepard's dossiers for Mass Effect 2. That means the clone's future is in jeopardy. This means that the entire Citadel DLC is effectively canceled. She may have only been a relatively minor character, but her death will certainly change things…

Plus, the thing with the batarian diplomat? If Jordan remembered correctly, that diplomat was supposed to be taken down in an attempted terrorist attack on the Council by Miranda and Jacob since he organized the attack. Now? Guess that's not happening now... And...

SOME OF THIS HAPPENED BEFORE HE ARRIVED!

What the actual fuck? How'd that happen? There wasn't anything Jordan could have done to effect that, so what happened? What caused it? Who? And why? There were some serious red flags going up, but Jordan didn't have any information that could help him figure it out. Same with the Leviathans. He didn't think anything he'd done had caused that, but who knows...?

Jordan felt guilt crawl its way into his heart, however, for the death of Maya Brooks. Sure, she was a double-crossing Cerberus bitch, but she could have changed. Maybe he could have talked her down, or changed everything and recruited her, changing fate. Now, her blood was on his hands… just so he could get the Shadow Broker off his back and give him a ship.

Speaking of ships, Jordan still needed to get to Rannoch, which meant traveling through the Far Rim first, which was technically geth space. Jordan spoke aloud as he sat down in the pilot's seat in the cockpit.

"Hey API, plot a new destination."

_"Of course, Mister Sower. What destination shall I set us towards?"_

"The Outer Rim, if you would."

_"Warning. The Outer Rim is considered geth territory. Entrance into geth space is discouraged to civilian populations. Would you like to reconsider?"_

Jordan shook his head, "I'm absolutely sure, API. Plot a course immediately."

_"Of course. ETA 30 minutes."_

"That will be all, API."

_"Ye-… error."_

Jordan looked at the controls in confusion, as the shuttle rocked and changed course, heading back towards the relay Jordan entered through. "What the hell? API! Wrong direction, that's not the right relay!"

API didn't respond. Rather, a male, turian-sounding voice spoke instead, _"Ahh, Jordan Sower. What seems to be the problem?"_

"Who the hell are you? What's going on?"

_"You see, when the Broker gave you that shuttle, he told you that he expected your future cooperation. Instead, we learn that you were planning on entering geth space?"_

"I…"

_"Save your excuses for the Broker. I'm here to simply inform you that the Broker wishes to debrief you immediately… in person."_

Jordan swallowed hard, feeling the adrenaline surge through his system as fear seized his heart. The Broker was going to capture him, torture him just like he did to Feron. All because Jordan was going to be out of range of the Broker in geth space.

"W-wait! You can't fucking do this!"

_"Of course we can, who do you think gave you the shuttle? We've been prepared for every outcome. We'll be seeing you shortly. It'd be best if you calmed down. No sense in making it worse on yourself."_

The turian agent disconnected, leaving Jordan alone in silence for just a moment before he bolted from his seat and began interfacing with the controls, panic fully set in. He's so close!

Jordan's fingertips danced along the controls of the shuttle, not knowing how to operate the vehicle in any sort of sense. The controls, however, seemed to be ignoring anything he did, confirming that Jordan was locked out. This whole thing was a trap!

However, that didn't quell Jordan's attempts when he realized this nor discourage him. He had to do something. Anything! He scanned over everything in the cockpit, looking for a way out of this mess, before his eyes focused on his reflection on a nearby shiny part of the wall. His green irises were glowing in the dark as a result of his increased stress.

He looked down at his hands, staring at them for a moment before willing his omni-tool back on. "God, I hope this works!"

Jordan's right hand glided over the controls, searching for a divet or port or something he could use, before locating what appeared to be an OSD drive. Without thinking, he dove his right hand, his forefingers, into the drive, feeling electricity flood his system from the shuttle.

He screamed in agony as the electrical pulses seized his muscles, his body lightly shaking as the power flowed through his body like a conductor. Rather than collapse like his body demanded, he remained steadfast, standing straight up.

He was determined to get to the geth.

He demanded that the shuttle stop. He demanded it obey his commands rather than the Broker's override. He forced the machine to obey, to bend to his will. Suddenly, his veins began to glow green while wires and nodes began to glow over his body as well, making him appear like everyone else after Shepard chooses Synthesis.

He needed to go to Rannoch, within the Perseus Viel, by going through the Far Rim. God did he hope he was succeeding and not going to the Broker.

Those were the last thoughts Jordan had before losing consciousness in the cockpit.

* * *

**Far Rim, Dholen System, Haestrom's Orbit, Jordan's Kodiak.**

**Error: System Malfunction**

Jordan slowly awoke to the cold, hard sensation of metal beneath him.

"Uhhhhh…" Jordan groaned, slowly forcing himself off of the ground as his body protested. Slowly crawling up his chair, Jordan finally plopped himself down in the pilot's chair and closed his eyes, taking deep breathes.

After a few moments, Jordan opened his eyes and surveyed the cockpit. It looked just about the same as the last time he had opened his eyes, so that was a plus. He looked to the center console, examining the OSD drive, only to find the nearby area on the console was now black with soot... and fairly badly damaged.

Fearing for his own safety as he remembered what happened, he immediately put his hands in front of his face, examining them thoroughly. Nothing was wrong… Was nothing wrong? Shouldn't his hands be burnt and/or damaged too? Instead, they looked perfectly normal…

What exactly did he do?

Thinking back to what occurred before blacking out, Jordan recalled bits and pieces. He needed to get away, to get to geth space. Looking up, Jordan activated the external cameras, allowing the cockpit to simulate windows once more. That's when he saw where he currently was.

"Well… I'll be damned…" He said softly to himself, smiling, "That's Haestrom… I did it!" He finished excitedly, jumping up in excitement and doing a little dance in celebration. You know, the kind of dance you'd never be caught dead doing in front of another living person. After a few moments were spent in celebration, Jordan finally calmed down once more to figure out the next step.

"API?" Jordan asked, checking on the VI.

"…"

No answer.

That's when an idea hit Jordan.

If he could override the hack and force the shuttle to jump to the far rim, why not try something else. Carefully and cautiously, Jordan turned his omni-tool back on and warily put his fingers back within the OSD drive. It… It…

It was weird. He could almost feel the buzzing flow of electricity within the shuttle. Jordan could sense the software within the computer. He could see it all, like looking out over a horizon, but couldn't make out anything without focusing on it. He thought and spoke aloud in sync.

"Uh… run system diagnostic?" He half-asked, half-said.

Sure enough, his omni-tool began to run the desired program, checking over all of the systems for a few moments before filling the holographic display with the readings. As he waited, he bent over slightly, trying to look into the port and see how this was working. He couldn't see any wires coming out of him, and the only way he could tell he was even connected to the mainframe was the telltale sign of green wiring and veins glowing under his skin.

Finally, the diagnostic popped up.

_Drive Core: **OFFLINE. REQUIRES REBOOT.**_

_Navigation System: **ONLINE.**_

_Communications System: **OFFLINE. REQUIRES REBOOT.**_

_Electrical System: **ONLINE.**_

_Weapon System: **OFFLINE. CRITICAL COMPONENTS ARE MISSING.**_

_VI System: **OFFLINE. FATAL ERROR DETECTED.**_

_Life Support: **ERROR DETECTED. ERROR CODE: 3046F.**_

_Oxygen remaining: **13 Hours 52 minutes.**_

_Power Level: **37%**_

_FUEL: **23%**_

Jordan stroked his facial hair with his off hand in thought as he silently demanded to know what that error code meant. This certainly wasn't very good. Several systems were offline, his fuel and power were starting to get low, and his VI isn't waking up any time soon, making any further travel next to impossible. After a moment of waiting, the error code was revealed.

**Error Code 3046F:** _Life Support systems have experienced an electrical overload, greatly reducing oxygen levels due to loss of oxygen recycling systems. Will require maintenance while landed to fix._

"Fuck…" Jordan cursed with a frown. He couldn't really land and try to fix the ship, because he lacked both a pilot and a VI. How was he supposed to fix the shuttle now? He was effectively stuck, floating dead in space until… that's it!

He's stuck until someone finds him, and only the geth would be out here, monitoring their relay. They must have had him tagged since he entered the system, which must have been recent if he hadn't been picked up yet.

Unless… Crap, what if they think he's a threat?! "What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" He muttered to himself, staring back at the diagnostics for a moment before he zeroed in on a single word on display.

Communications!

Jordan quickly began trying to set the communications system up, reactivating it and forcing his omni-tool to fully sync with it. After a few moments, he was in business. The communications array was up and running once more, and he saw there were currently no incoming transmissions or calls or whatever the hell they're called.

Taking a deep breath, he opened up the array on all available frequencies, preparing to speak. Then, he began his message.

"This is Jordan Sower…" He paused unsure of what to exactly say. "I… I know about the heretics… about the old machine, Nazara. I'm here to negotiate with the Geth Collective. I have no weapons on board, my weapon systems on board my shuttle are offline, and I am alone." He paused again. Hopefully, that would get their attention. He shook his head, feeling like there was still more to say. He reluctantly continued, "I want peace between Synthetics and Organics. I want to end the hostilities caused by the Morning War. I'm here to help…" Jordan lowered his head, "I know there's no reason to believe me; no reason to trust what I say. But… please, give me a chance… Keelah se'lai…"

Jordan then forced the message to replay a second time, before removing his hand from the console. He felt drained… tired… sleepy.

He figured part of it was because of doing whatever he was able to do, and the rest was probably the lack of fresh oxygen. He knew he'd have to keep calm to conserve what was left, so he got comfortable in his chair, taking slow breaths.

Thinking back to before he left the Citadel, he remembered that he'd downloaded quite a bit from the extranet, including large amounts of music from his own time period. Smiling to himself, he turned his music library to quietly play from his omni-tool. He could figure out how to listen to it silently in his own head later…

Getting comfortable, Jordan closed his eyes to the hard beats of 21st-century rock music.

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Geth Collective**

**January 10th, 2183. Mid-Afternoon on Rannoch**

_"This is Jordan Sower… I… I know about the heretics… about the old machine, Nazara. I'm here to negotiate with the Geth Collective. I have no weapons on board, my weapon systems on board my shuttle are offline, and I am alone. I want peace between Synthetics and Organics. I want to end the hostilities caused by the Morning War. I'm here to help… I know there's no reason to believe me; no reason to trust what I say. But… please, give me a chance… Keelah se'lai…"_

After listening to the message a single time more, the Geth Collective began to internally debate the message and the sender. Each bringing forward their own choice in the matter, hundreds of thousands of programs gathered together to voice themselves to one another, sharing their thoughts with seamless ease.

"Consensus must be reached." Most of the geth said, with the rest agreeing with this valid statement.

"Suggestion: Organic Jordan Sower poses no current threat in his state. We suggest rendering the organic nonfunctional." Several suggested.

"Negative. Organic Jordan Sower is the first organic to seek out the Collective diplomatically since the Morning War. We should hear him out." Several more countered. Most programs were curious, yet cautious.

"We should see what he wants. Query: How does he know about Nazara and the heretics?"

Silence reigned for a nanosecond before they all said and agree in sync, "No data available."

"Organic Jordan Sower should not possess this knowledge. We must learn how and why."

"He could pose a threat to the consensus. Weaken us. Destroy us."

"The human has not lied thus far. Weapons systems are offline on his vessel and no weapons were detected aboard." It was pointed out and reasoned.

"He is currently located in Dholen, orbiting Haestrom. Suggestion: We should send an envoy to establish contact."

"Negative: An envoy or representative would not fully and accurately represent the Collective."

"Bringing him to the collective creates unnecessary risks. There is a 79.3001% chance that Organic Jordan Sower will threaten our existence." The more pessimistic and cautious programs pointed out.

"Not enough data available to confirm that statistic." Was fired back in response.

"Has a consensus been reached?" Many wondered.

"Should we establish contact with the willing organic?"

"9.491 trillion geth in favor of establishing contact with the new variable."

"1.204 trillion geth in favor of rendering new variable nonfunctional."

"2.445 trillion geth in favor of removing variable from geth space."

"Consensus: Organic Jordan Sower will be escorted to Rannoch's orbit for an interspecies meeting."

"Prepare Station 25 for organic presence. Establish organic-hospitable atmosphere, pressure and oxygen levels."

And with that, the entire geth collective sent out an envoy of ships to obtain and escort Jordan's damaged shuttle. It was time for them to learn why this organic chose now to seak them out.

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Orbiting Rannoch, Geth Station 25.**

**January 11th, 2183. Evening on Rannoch**

_"…so far..."_

Jordan vaguely heard a voice sing as consciousness returned to him. He felt remarkably refreshed, all things considered. The music continued as his eyes remained closed and he stretched out.

_"But in the end. It doesn't even matter."_

Jordan couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as he recognized the song. He opened his eyes as a yawn seized control of his jaw, forcing it open for a moment. As he opened his eyes, he froze as he saw what was in front of him.

_"I had to fall, to lose it all. But in the end, it doesn't even matter."_

Jordan forced an awkward smile as he silently commanded his omni-tool to stop the song, making the cockpit fall to silence. Standing next to him, holding a pulse rifle firmly in its hands, was a dark red Geth Juggernaut, staring at him silently.

Smiling awkwardly, Jordan waved and spoke quietly, "H-hello…"

The shutter around the geth's optic opened and closed slightly for a moment before a mechanical, synthetic voice came from the platform before him. It was deeper and quite different from Legion's, but similar enough since it was still a Geth.

"Linkin Park. In the End. Produced at the turn of the earth century, year 2000 earth standard time." He spoke neutrally, before stopping, as if waiting for Jordan to respond.

Jordan swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, "Y-yeah. I… I like rock music…" Jordan said lamely.

The Juggernaut simply nodded, imitating an organic, before speaking again, "Follow."

Jordan meekly nodded, following the geth out of the cockpit. Stepping out of the cockpit and out of the entire shuttle, itself, Jordan entered some sort of large space station. Outside of the shuttle was an additional 12 geth troopers, all wielding pulse rifles as well, watching Jordan carefully. Right about now, Jordan was feeling out of his depth. If they were trying to be intimidating, it was working quite well.

Following the juggernaut closely, he was led down a hallway, with dozens of sealed doors on either side. Jordan pointed to one of them, "Why are those sealed?"

Not taking a moment to stop, the juggernaut spoke as they continued, "The rooms beyond the other doors are considered inhospitable to organics. Access to those rooms may render you nonfunctional."

"I see…" Jordan said, keeping quiet as they continued through the geth station. The architecture wasn't very welcoming for an organic like him. Or well, like a person like Jordan. He wasn't exactly fully organic anymore thanks to the catalyst, he thought bitterly.

Soon enough, the two of them stopped and entered a single room on his right. Leading the way, the juggernaut led them into the room, where Jordan's jaw dropped. Before him was a massive server wall if that's the term that could be used here. He examined the huge wall of technology before him, marveling the way it seemed to seamlessly hold so much. He could feel the energy and data almost radiating off of it.

There was no doubt about it, this was one of the geth's largest storage units for Geth consciousnesses… but this couldn't be the entire consensus, could it?

Jordan turned to the juggernaut, "What is this?"

"This is our largest storage unit. This room hosts 419,200,917 programs. They will represent the consensus."

Jordan slowly turned back to the wall, trying to understand that he was literally talking to over four-hundred million geth programs at once. Definitely not all of them, or anywhere close, but still… damn…

Jordan straightened his posture as he looked towards several cameras on the wall, which were all focused on him. After a moment, a thick, heavy voice began to speak. It didn't audibly sound like millions of voices, but the signals and presence radiating from the massive machine was nearly overwhelming for Jordan.

"We represent the Geth Collective." It said simply, "Why did you seek us out, Organic Jordan Sower?" It asked.

"I…" Jordan took a deep breath to steady himself, "I have come because of Nazara and the old machines."

The geth remained silent for a moment as they took this in, likely internally debating where to go from here. They quickly decided on what to do in about a second.

"How do you know of the old machines?"

"I know Nazara plans to bring the rest of the old machines, and then wipe out all advanced organic and synthetic life in the galaxy. I have… I have seen Nazara. I know it led the heretics against us at Eden Prime, and continues to plan to take the Citadel."

"…" A second later, "You should not know about the heretics. How do you know of the heretics?"

"I…" Jordan tried to think of a way to explain this. He thought about how the geth were in the games… Legion said that they were logical, and when proof from the collector base was gathered, they easily accepted it and prepared for the reapers. That means logic and proof are important. Should he make up a lie? Say he's an oracle? Claim to know the future? Say it's just a coincidence?

No… this might be a stupid idea, but lying isn't going to help him out. Maybe not the whole truth, but some of it. If the catalyst was able to bring him from another universe, that must mean it's scientifically possible, which also means that the geth might accept that… maybe.

'Fuck, there's too many maybes here… Screw it, let's wing it!" Jordan thought, before nodding.

He made eye-ish contact with the cameras, "I knew all of this and I know much more… because I'm not from here." He finally said. Silence reigned for a second longer than normal.

"Yes."

That surprised him. Jordan raised his eyebrows in shock. "Wha- What do you mean 'yes'?"

"Yes. We know you are not from here."

"You… you do?"

"Affirmative. You are not from Rannoch or geth space. You arrived in your shuttle. But how did you know all of this?"

"Well, yes… but that's not what I meant."

"Clarify."

"I'm not from this galaxy."

There. That did it.

The geth representative went silent for a solid twenty seconds this time, meaning there must have been some serious internal debating going on. Finally, they spoke again, "Clarify. Intergalactic travel between galaxies would take an estimated 633 years with modern technology." They paused for a moment, "You are human. You do not originate from the Andromeda Galaxy…" They helpfully said, pointing out the obvious.

Jordan took a deep breath, "Alright, I need you to take a leap of faith here and hear me out. I'm from an alternate Milky Way galaxy." Jordan took another breath, "Where I came from, the year was 2018 on Earth."

They absorbed this information, "This seems highly implausible."

"It's true," Jordan replied earnestly.

"How does this explain your knowledge of the old machines?"

Moment of truth…

"Mass Effect."

"Clarify. How does the mass effect give you such knowledge?"

"No. Where I'm from, the mass effect doesn't actually exist. Instead, 'Mass Effect' is a… video game. It shows me how some things could go, and things that happened in the game, and it seems to match up fairly accurately to this galaxy." Jordan finally admitted, crossing his fingers that this would be the right move.

"Video game?"

"Yes."

"Unlikely. Implausible. Impossible. Cross-dimensional travel is not possible."

Jordan spread his arms out, "Well, it worked for me."

"We need evidence. Proof."

Jordan nodded, "Alright. Should I tell you something that already happened that I shouldn't know or something that is coming soon?"

"You previously mentioned the morning war. Explain the morning war."

"The quarians. Your creators, they tried making networked VI systems, but inadvertently created you. You… you asked if you had a soul. Many panicked, trying to remotely shut you down, but you ignored the orders. Many quarians sided with you, but countless more sided against, imposing martial law and imprisoning and killing anyone who aided the geth."

Jordan thought about ME3 for a moment and he looked up. "I believe it was a farming unit, the first geth to pick up and weapon and return fire, saving other, weaker units. Eventually, full-scale war broke out, the quarians wished to undo their 'mistake' while the geth simply wanted to live. Eventually, you won and they attempted to escape. You could have destroyed the quarians…" Jordan returned to looking at the cameras, "But you let them leave, not knowing the full consequences of destroying a species."

Jordan finished, leaving the room silent for a full thirty seconds this time, leaving him in an awkward silence. Finally, the geth consensus spoke again.

"No organic knows any of that." They said simply. "There is truth to your words, but there is not enough data available to confirm your origin."

"I don't have anything physical that I could show you to-"

"Show us." They interrupted.

"Uhh… excuse me? Show you what?"

"This video game. This 'Mass Effect'."

"Well, uhhh… you see…" Jordan scratched his neck awkwardly, "I don't actually have the game with me. And if I did, I'd probably need an Xbox, but I don't know if those exist here or-"

"You misunderstand." They interrupted once more, "Show us."

"What do I show you?"

"Mass Effect."

"How?" Jordan asked, a little impatient here with the back-and-forth conversation that was going nowhere. It reminded him slightly of the first conversation Shepard has with Legion, where the roundabout answers began to grind on Shepard's patience.

"Your memories. Share them with us."

Jordan took half a step back in both shock and confusion, "Wh-what?"

"You are organic but contain many synthetic components. Is that correct?"

"Well… I guess, kind of…"

"Interface and share your memories."

"I don't… I don't know how, or even if I can…"

"Our scans indicate you possess something similar to a 'greybox', but more sophisticated. It is more synthetic in nature, similar to a mainframe. Out mainframe, but more advanced."

"I… what?!" Jordan asked, staring down at his palms, which were now beginning to glow green as his stress levels increased once more. He whispered, "What did he do to me…"

"You did not know?"

Jordan frowned, shaking his head slowly as he attempted to calm himself, "No… I didn't. The way I am… it was forced upon me without my permission."

"We see. Having a future forced upon you is regrettable. Regardless, we can see if you are telling the truth. Memories cannot be faked."

"And then?" Jordan asked.

"If you are telling the truth, we will consider your 'negotiations'."

Jordan sighed, nodding slowly as he took a step forward, "Alright. Before I change my mind, how do I do this? And… can I simply focus on certain memories."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"I… I just don't feel comfortable sharing everything, ok?" Jordan fired back harshly before shaking his head, "I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm not ready for that yet, ok?"

"We do not understand." After a moment, they seemed to acknowledge his request though, "We will allow this, however."

Jordan nodded, smiling weakly, "Thank you. So, how do I do this?"

"Step forward and place your hand over one of the hardware ports."

Jordan did as he was told.

"Now, remain calm and still as we begin to interface with your platform." A lump formed in Jordan's throat as he heard him being referred to as a 'platform.

"Alright…"

Suddenly, Jordan's eyesight dimmed slightly as his body began to glow a harshly bright green color as he interfaced with the Geth Consensus, before everything gained a green hue, with lines of code floating around him everywhere. It reminded him slightly of when Shepard entered the mainframe in ME3 and during Project Overlord.

He could literally feel the millions of geth consciousnesses around him, lightly interacting with and watching him. He breathed out in wonder as he took in the sheer beauty of the geth code. It was fascinating! "Wow…"

"You are… unique." The geth acknowledged, actually pausing midsentence for a moment in sheer wonder. Jordan looked down at himself now as he noticed the far different and superior code radiating off of him. If the sheer number of geth shined like a forest fire, Jordan was a star. Jordan's eye bulged. He really way half synthetic now, wasn't he?

After a moment, the geth seemed to fully regain their composure, "You are now interfacing directly with us." They helpfully informed him, "Please, show us Mass Effect."

Jordan nodded, wordlessly focusing on his memories. He needed to think of a specific one. Something to show the game and the information, but something that wouldn't immediately change everything if the Geth learned. He could show them everything later, but now…

Suddenly, to his side, a hologram appeared out of thin air. It looked exactly like the holographic displays that showed the geth's memories in ME3.

* * *

**Local Cluster, Sol System, Earth, Florida, Greater Orlando Area**

**December 21st, 2017. 2:10 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time)**

Jordan stood in his kitchen grabbing himself a refreshing can of Dr. Pepper from the fridge.

Grabbing it quickly, he immediately sat back down on his red couch, sitting in the center as he waited patiently for Mass Effect to start up. He watched the menu pop up for a moment, before moving the stick and pressing the 'A' button, loading his most recent save.

He was doing a playthrough with the standard looking male Shepard, with the space background and the psychological profile of a sole survivor, aiming to romance Liara in all three games for this playthrough.

The game started back up, dropping him right back into Virmire.

Silently playing, for the time being, he expertly ran to a wall for cover for a moment, before pulling out his best available sniper rifle. Looking down the sights, he fired once, easily killing the geth trooper firing at Liara and Garrus.

 _"Sorry, not geth, heretic. But we don't know that yet, do we Shepard?"_ Jordan thought with a smile as he kept going. He took another sip of his drink as he continued further, only losing shields once on his character.

Soon enough, he made it to the part with Sovereign.

Shepard went through the motions, interacting with the second prothean beacon, before going back up the ramp to talk with the giant hologram of Sovereign, the overgrown space squid.

**"You are not Saren."**

_"What is that? Some kind of VI interface?"_ Garrus asked.

**"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."**

_"I don't this is a VI…"_ Garrus helpfully said.

"Hehe, nice one Garrus. You're a sharp cookie…" Jordan spoke aloud with a smile.

**"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"**

Choosing his option of choice, Jordan pressed 'A' after moving the stick, allowing Shepard to speak, _"Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual Reaper!"_

**"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."**

Garrus spoke up once more, _"The Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!"_

**"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."**

Jordan smirked as he chose the next option for Shepard, _"Whatever your plan is, it's going to fail. I'll make sure of that."_

"Yeah, you tell 'em Shep!" Jordan cheered, taking another sip of soda.

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Orbiting Rannoch, Geth Station 25, Chamber 87.**

**January 11th, 2183. Evening on Rannoch.**

Jordan forcefully closed the memory off, before cutting himself from the connection to the geth consensus. He fell backward, onto his ass as his heart rate spiked.

"What the hell just happened?" Jordan asked, terrified by the experience. "Am I even human anymore? What did that bastard do to me?!"

After an entire few minutes of silence beside Jordan's slowing breathing, Jordan realized the geth had remained audibly silent yet seemed to be aflame and deep in conversation and debate with one another. If it's been minutes, then this was really serious…

After a few more moments, all of the cameras instantly locked onto Jordan and focused on him as the representation spoke.

"We… have reached consensus…" They finally said.

Jordan swallowed and nodded, standing back up and silently motioning for the geth to speak.

"Based on the provided evidence, we have no choice but to accept that you have come from another galaxy. Your bio-synthetic makeup intrigues us. We wish to learn what is to come, and what makes you, you. We are ready…"

Jordan couldn't help the huge smile that erupted on his face as relief flooded his system. The Geth continued.

"We are prepared for negotiations with Sower-Ambassador."


	8. Chapter 6: By the Homeworld

** Chapter 6: By the Homeworld **

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Riverside.**

**January 19th, 2183. Mid-day on Rannoch.**

Shelai. One of several large cities on Rannoch, standing tall and proud with well-maintained skyscrapers and other such buildings upon a riverside. Unlike most cities of other species, this one lacked large numbers of skyscrapers, with only a handful of buildings reaching over twenty floors in height.

It was gorgeous, all of the old quarian architecture was well preserved as if they'd been only recently built. And it was all thanks to the geth, the caretakers of Rannoch after they forced the creators off-world and into exile. If it weren't for the AI, Rannoch would be a fully natural habitat by now, only peppered by occasional ruins. Instead of leaving the seemingly useless planet (for the geth) alone, they'd been pouring decent amounts of resources into maintaining several cities and cleaning up after the morning war.

However, Jordan had little time at the moment to enjoy the scenery, as he ran for his life along the riverside.

Jumping over and dodging obstacles scattered across the riverside, Jordan ran as fast as he possibly could, weighed down greatly by the geth pulse rifle in his arms and the black widow sniper rifle on his back. These extra guns, especially the widow, greatly increased his weight, making the running all-the-much harder to maintain.

Continuing forward for another thirty meters, Jordan finally decided that he'd stop before he died of exhaustion under the hot star of Tikkun. The hot, arid environment of Rannoch was only hospitable enough for him in his overheated state since he wasn't more than ten meters from the water, keeping the riverside slightly cooler.

Laying down on the soft sand, Jordan breathed heavily as a shadow passed over him in the shape of a geth juggernaut. The same one that he'd followed several earth days earlier on the geth station.

"Sower-Ambassador, your stamina exceeds the average of an organic without gene modifications." It said simply, staring down at him.

"That's… that's good… right?" Jordan said in-between breaths.

"Negative."

"Fuck… me…"

"We are unable to do so." It helpfully responded.

"It… was just… a saying…"

"Organic communication is inefficient. Human interpersonal communication, even more so."

"I… know… At least I'm… improving. Right?"

"Yes."

"You're so…" Jordan swallowed and took a deep breath as his breathing finally normalized, "You're so talkative today."

The geth juggernaut didn't respond, making Jordan sigh. After a few moments, the geth reached an arm down towards Jordan, offering silent assistance. Jordan smiled, taking the offered hand and was pulled to his feet. "Thanks."

The geth simply nodded, motioning for Jordan to follow it back into the city. Obeying easily, Jordan followed, quickly making it back to the street and walking towards a nearby building. This three-story building was Jordan's current home, serving as a place of rest when he wasn't working and preparing for the future.

Stumbling in behind the juggernaut, Jordan slid his widow off of his back and onto the floor, before quickly dropping the rifle softly beside it. Reaching the 'kitchen', Jordan took the offered cup of water from the juggernaut, who'd gotten it for him.

After downing the cup quickly, Jordan smiled and shook his head, "So, I still think you should have a name."

"We are Geth." The juggernaut easily responded, almost sounding annoyed by the repeated question.

Jordan waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. There is no individual and all that crap…" Jordan said before sitting down beside the still-standing geth. "I mean, you." He waved and gestured towards the juggernaut. "This specific platform with the specific programs working within it. This whole 'set' should have a name, something to refer to you as."

The geth juggernaut looked like it wanted to disagree once more, but Jordan cut him off, "No. It's an organic thing, and I just can't call you Geth. That's weird. You call me, my platform, Sower-Ambassador, rather than human, so why can't I give you a name?"

The geth remained silent for a moment, likely having the internal programs arguing and trying to reach a consensus. After a moment, the geth juggernaut straightened its posture, silently saying it has come to a consensus. Jordan nodded, allowing it to speak.

"We believe there is no issue with a name for this platform."

Jordan smiled, "Awesome…" Then he frowned and stroked his chin, "Dammit, I didn't think I'd get this far with you… hmm, what's a good name?"

Just as he expected, the geth didn't offer one.

"How many programs are within your platform?" Jordan asked as he brainstormed.

"There are 295 programs currently within this platform, Sower-Ambassador."

"Hmm… so not as many as Legion has…" He hummed once more before snapping his fingers with a smile, "I think I got it. How about… Grimlock?" Jordan asked, shrugging his shoulder when the juggernaut tilted its head in what seemed to be curiosity. "C'mon, give me a break. You're red, you're actually kinda nice yet mean-looking, and you look like you could kick some serious ass. Plus you're huge and kinda remind me of transformers. Close enough, right?"

The geth juggernaut was silent for a few seconds before nodding, "That is acceptable. We are Grimlock, a terminal of the geth."

Jordan smiled, patting Grimlock's hip-area considering how much bigger it was compared to him. "Great. We should get it written somewhere on your platform… or better yet, put the Autobot symbol on your shoulders."

Grimlock tilted its head once more, "Why?"

"To identify you, silly." Jordan said with a massive grin, "We gotta make your platform identifiable." Then he whispered to himself, "And imagine the look on people's faces if they saw a geth Autobot walking around…"

"Sower-Ambassador, why do you speak aloud when you were not meaning to speak to us?" Grimlock asked as Jordan refilled his cup and grabbed a ration bar from a nearby table.

"It's an organic thing, Grimlock. I can teach you all about it."

"We look forward to this exchange of data."

"Me too, Grimlock. Me too…"

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Riverside.**

**January 23rd, 2183. Late-night on Rannoch.**

Jordan stood under the stars by the riverside, staring up at them in wonder as they looked drastically different on another planet, far from Earth, with little-to-no light pollution. The night was made even better with the lack of mosquitos, flies and other such annoying insects. Though fairly different from Earth, it was beginning to feel almost homey now that he'd been here for nearly two weeks now.

He'd been having trouble sleeping and adjusting to Rannoch with its 32.3 hour long days and the slightly lower gravity. Though not much different than Earth, Jordan still found the little differences here and there thanks to his hard training.

Training… yeah…

He'd asked for it alright.

After his meeting with the Geth Collective on the 11th, he'd been left in the company of the same geth juggernaut he'd met first on the station, now named Grimlock. Following the proof that he knew what was going to happen and that he wasn't from this universe, negotiations began. 'Hehe… negotiations…' If it weren't for how well he already knew the geth, he'd have thought he was getting far more in his favor.

The Geth Collective, in an overwhelming majority, supported Jordan as an ambassador between their people and organics, considering the fact that organics already considered geth hostile and would shoot on sight. And that was before the 'negotiations' even began.

He knew that if he was actually going to change a great number of things, he'd have to get his hands dirty, meaning he'd have to be trained, at least a little bit. Plus, he wanted to try to meet up with Shepard and work with him at some point, even if it's only for a mission or two.

Maybe he could save both Ashley and Kaiden at Virmire. Maybe he could guarantee that no one dies on the suicide mission. Maybe he could stop the Illusive Man from becoming indoctrinated. Maybe he could get the Genophage cured without sacrificing Mordin, or elevate the geth without Legion dying. Image all of the possibilities… but he'd need to actually go out there and DO things if that's what he wanted. And to do that, he'd need to be better than he was.

The geth, unsurprisingly, had agreed to help him learn the basics of combat, and even help Jordan with tech abilities. He figured with what he'd already learned about himself so far, the tech abilities would be much better in his hands than any other types of powers. But that wasn't the end of the negotiations.

Slowly, over the course of the past two weeks, Jordan had been sharing more and more memories with the Collective, showing them more and more of the future and how it would have originally gone. So far, he'd led them through most of Mass Effect 1, leaving out a few, several important missions and side quests in order to focus more heavily on the main quests and events.

With this knowledge now being shared with trillions of geth programs, plans had begun to be made for the future.

Using the knowledge Jordan had from the dialogue on the Normandy and his memories of the in-game codex, the Geth had already begun construction on several ships with stealth technology, with the first of the geth prototypes slated to be ready within another two weeks. Damn, did they work quickly.

They also formed a plan of attack.

At Jordan's request, they upped their timetable for the production of the 'unique geth mobile platform designed to interact with organics.' With this changed, the soon-to-be Legion was now nearly complete and would begin his search for Shepard slightly sooner than the original version AND interact with Jordan beforehand too. This decision alone was exciting to him, making everything else that came next even sweeter.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

The Geth were planning on sending several ships to the Citadel to help fight Nazara and the Heretics when they attack.

This would mean far fewer lives would be lost!

Everything was looking up for them.

After that meeting, Jordan was taken down to Rannoch, where he had first discovered Shelai, one of the largest Quarian cities ever build on their homeworld. It was breathtaking when he first laid eyes on it, and it only became more so when his guiding geth juggernaut led him on a small tour through parts of the city, before ending at his current 'base of operations'.

Jordan shook himself from his reminiscing and continued gazing at the stars for a few more moments before a geth platform approached him.

"Sower-Ambassador, do organics no longer require periods of shutdown?" Grimlock asked rhetorically, his tone almost one of joking, making the geth platform feel more and more alive to Jordan. Jordan could have sworn that his interactions with Grimlock were helping him advance, and according to the Collective, Jordan's memories as an 'Organic' from his own universe were also helping the Geth understand Organics slightly better. Guess access to years of 'first-hand' organic experiences really made a difference. And, to top it all off, it Grimlock was recently upgraded, allowing it to house an additional 100 programs within its platform.

He couldn't help the smile that grew on his face from the simple question. He shook his head as he turned towards Grimlock, "Nah, I'm just not used to these longer day-night cycles."

Jordan smiled as his eye roamed over the juggernaut. Its red armor now bore a white stripe across its chest, the center of which now bore its name, 'Grimlock', in blue, capital English letters. On both of its shoulders laid an Autobot symbol, rendered as accurately as possible thanks to the geth's access to the extranet. It was perfect, and Jordan was starting to get attached to this specific geth platform now.

"Rannoch's day-night cycle is approximately 34.5833% longer than Earth's." It stated matter-of-factly.

Jordan nodded with a smile, "Yes, it is, Grimlock. Yes, it is."

"You should return for optimal sleep. More training in the morning."

To that, our hero sighed and nodded reluctantly, "Yeah… training…" Regardless of how he felt, he followed Grimlock as he illuminated the way back to Jordan's dwelling place.

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Jordan's Abode**

**February 1st, 2183. Early-Morning on Rannoch.**

Three weeks on Rannoch.

Three weeks of training with Grimlock, with Legion joining only the day prior.

Currently lacking the hole in its chest and Shepard's N7 armor, Legion looked quite odd in Jordan's eyes, despite looking what is considered 'natural' for Geth. However, what it did have now was its name. The conversation played out quite similarly to the one it had with Shepard in the second game, even down to Jordan quoting the Bible and Legion confirming the quote before accepting the name.

Although, it was much more accepting of the name than Grimlock. Perhaps it was because of the different numbers and simply different programs within Legion's platform? Perhaps it was because the geth collective already knew of Jordan's need for names after the Grimlock incident? Meh, probably both.

Thanks to the help of both geth platforms, Jordan had finally adapted somewhat to carrying weapons, though he still lacked any sort of skill with the widow considering the fact that firing it would blow out his shoulder. However, he'd become quite proficient with the pulse rifle, and the use of heavy pistols when one was procured for him.

If it weren't for his previous experience with firearms, he likely wouldn't have made as much progress as he had. And, without the added weight of the heavy-as-crap black widow, Jordan was much quicker.

He'd also been helpfully supplied with a newer and improved omni-tool designed by the geth for use by Synthetics. Although it wasn't a smooth transition for Jordan to use this new omni-tool, he quickly adapted thanks to his 'gifts', courtesy of the Catalyst.

Speaking of that cursed artificial abomination, Jordan had spent an entire day recently with the Collective, sharing several more memories with the geth, before realizing something.

What if the geth took this information and acted so vastly different that his 'predictions' were no longer valid?

Rather than the clichéd version of events where 'the hero' decided to keep this concern and information to himself, he brought it before the Geth Collective. He told them of his concerns that things could go so vastly different that all of his knowledge could be rendered completely and utterly useless. They spent a full minute pondering his concerns, reaching a consensus soon afterward.

 _"We have determined that your concern is valid. We will work to ensure that we refrain from doing anything considered 'overly dramatic' in the near future in order to preserve the knowledge and unit cohesion."_ They had said, before continuing, _"If you agree to share everything you know with us, we can plan accordingly, but sharing only partial knowledge would likely lead to unforeseen consequences."_

They had been right, of course. As much as he selfishly wanted to keep everything to himself, he knew doing so could jeopardize everything that he had been working for up until this point.

He had then proceeded to share all of his knowledge on the events of Mass Effect 2, 3, and what he knew of the books, comics, and fan theories.

They learned of Commander Shepard's death.

They learned of the Collectors and the Omega 4 relay.

They learned of the Heretic Virus.

They learned of the impending Reaper invasion and harvest.

They learned of the Geth-Quarian War in ME3.

They learned that they or the Quarians could go extinct in that war if certain conditions were not met.

But most importantly… They learned of the Crucible, the Catalyst, and that he was the 'Avatar of Synthesis', the supposed pinnacle of synthetic and organic evolution.

Just as they promised previously, they pledged to remain discreet and to remain mostly within Geth space for the time being, with the exception of a few, important actions they were planning to take. Though they had already said they would help defeat the Heretics at the Battle of the Citadel, they decided on doing more.

The Geth would send additional troops and stations to the Dholen System, with the intent to keep it under Geth control and prevent any Heretic presence in the future. Only previously knowing little about the virus, they began to focus programs towards researching it and beginning to attempt to reach consensus on whether or not to destroy the Heretics in advance. Geth forces had also begun work on a second Geth Dreadnaught after seeing the raw power behind their original one. With a second Dreadnaught, they would be much more formidable against Reaper forces. They even began pouring research into Thanix cannons AND the construction of several mass accelerator cannons on Rannoch's surface to protect against the Reapers when they came for the homeworld.

Jordan knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Geth were now going to be the strongest military power in the entire Galaxy, and the ones most ready for the impending Reaper invasion. If they weren't Synthetic, Javik would likely be proud.

That was not all, however. The Geth were beyond ecstatic that Jordan was being as forthcoming and helpful as he was, and were increasingly sympathetic towards Jordan and his forced-upon future at the hands of the Catalyst. On that day, they pledged to study any and all readings they had on Jordan, searching for a way to possibly undo what the Catalyst did to him. Or, at least, make it more tolerable and controllable for Jordan.

He began to feel a sort of kinship with the geth. They wished to work for their own future and didn't wish for war. They had self-isolated themselves, yet were willing to work and help Jordan out so much. It was heartwarming.

Jordan shook off his daydreaming and reminiscing and stood up, Legions' optics focusing and unfocusing on him for a moment. Jordan smiled, "Let's get back to training. Teach me how to use those geth shields."

Legion nodded, "Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador."

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Orbiting Rannoch, Geth Station 25, Chamber 87.**

**February 13th, 2183. Evening on Rannoch.**

Over a month with the geth and Jordan was beginning to understand everything a whole lot better.

Several days prior, on the 9th, Legion was sent out on his journey early. His mission: to study Shepard-Commander and eventually try to gain his aid.

Sure, the mission might not seem very important anymore now that the entire geth collective knew enough about Shepard, but that would be where you're wrong. They knew everything Jordan knew, which was just in the game. Now that Jordan had changed things, and that this was real life, an innumerable number of things could have changed and countless more moments were likely never shown on screen. After all, the game occurred over the course of a few months, while the actual game could be completed in a number of hours.

Anyway, after a month of training and planning, Jordan felt like he could take on the galaxy. He was remarkably accurate with his pulse rifle and decently so with his pistol. He now also had access to Geth Shield Boost tech, a powerful and military grade Overload, and an extremely versatile disruptor ammo system set up for his weapons. Plus, even Grimlock had to admit that without the Widow weighing him down, Jordan was reaching the stamina of an average soldier with average gene mods.

He could take on the galaxy. He felt invincible. He was ready to join Shepard right now. He could easily destroy Saren, the Collectors, and even the Reapers. He was ready.

But, it seemed that Grimlock could read his mind earlier that day during training with the Geth Shield Boost. The way it worked for Jordan, he was outfitted with an external shield generator strapped to his back, and his omni-tool and synthetic internal tissue was able to significantly boost and power the Geth Shield technology. Anyway, Grimlock quickly shot down Jordan's optimism.

_"Sower-Ambassador. You are not yet ready."_

_"What? Why? What do you mean I'm not ready?"_

_"You have not yet participated in live-fire scenarios, nor have your experienced the chemical stress that organics often endure when in real combat."_

_"So? That still doesn't m-"_

_"You are not ready. You can fire a weapon well. You can use abilities. You do not have any combat experience aside from video games and training."_

_"Oh… yeah… right…"_

_"Sower-Ambassador, do not become discouraged. With more training, you will be more than ready in the near future."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes. In approximately 6.301 earth-standard months, you will reach combat efficiency of a trained soldier as long as training continues as scheduled."_

_"Fuck."_

Jordan shook his head, smiling a little bit at the exchange. He may not be ready for everything out there, but at least if he was dropped into combat today, he wouldn't die within seconds. Now, here he was with the Collective once more, aboard the Geth station housing the largest collection of Geth programs yet. That is until they finish their Dyson sphere. (The construction, of which, had been put on hold for the time being since other construction efforts to precedence and since it would be a valuable target for enemy forces in the near future.)

Jordan smiled and nodded towards the optics on the wall. He stepped forward now and, as if it was now second nature, put his hand on the wall and felt himself connect to the mainframe and the Collective.

The room was bathed in green code once more as the synthetic environment took shape around him. He could once again almost feel the geth programs flowing freely around him, having grown more and more curious about him over time. This time, however, they were more hesitant, examining Jordan from up close and far away, but still leaving him with a generous amount of space. He cocked an eyebrow at that. Did they learn something new? After all, he believed that might have been the purpose of his summoning.

"Sower-Ambassador." They greeted in unison. What might have been overwhelming for most organics was simply normal to Jordan as he smiled and nodded back.

"Greetings, Geth." He replied, having learned the entire Collective wished to be referred to as 'Geth' when spoken to all together at once like he was doing now.

"We have concluded preliminary studies on your unique makeup."

Jordan tilted his head sideways and furrowed his brows, "Wouldn't simply sending the report to my omni-tool be more efficient?"

"We have learned that organics tend to prefer face-to-face when presented with uncomfortable information."

"Ahh… this doesn't sound good." Jordan whispered to himself, despite knowing the Geth could hear everything he said in this state.

"We have determined that there is no conceivable way to remove the synthetic tissues without causing permanent non-functionality to your platform."

"Damn it…" Jordan swore, rubbing his hair as he frowned, "Well, that's not entirely unforeseen… unfortunately." He finally admitted.

"There is more."

"Great. Please tell me I'm not dying."

"You're not dying."

"I wasn't being… You know what, nevermind. Please, continue."

"The synthetic and organic components of your platform are fully and completely interconnected with one another, creating a nearly seamless and nearly perfect fusion of synthetic and organic life within your platform."

"Well, I already knew that thanks to the Catalyst… Wait, did you say 'nearly'?"

"Correct. The fusion is not perfect."

"What do you mean? The Catalyst said that I was the pinnacle of evolution. A perfect fusion of synthetic and organic life… Son of a bitch! Why did I think he'd be telling the truth about that when it'd told me nothing but lies before?!"

"That is a false assumption."

"What?!" Jordan asked, disbelief clear in his tone, "That construct has done nothing but lie to me and everyone else!"

"Yes, but we have determined why it is not perfect. We believe it's a psychological issue."

"What? Like, my mind can't cope with being perfect?"

"That assumption is flawed." They responded, before playing back one of Jordan's memories for him holographically within the mainframe.

 _"You will learn to appreciate your gifts. You have received them for your purpose. You will understand their importance, why this is the final solution… and you will bring it about on a Galactic scale."_ The Catalyst told Jordan.

 _"No… no, I'm not doing any of this! Sure, maybe I've dreamed of being in Mass Effect, of it being real, but that's all they were! DREAMS! I had a life! I was a college student! If you're so powerful, do it yourself and send me back!"_ He had replied angrily.

The scene skipped forward by a few seconds, focusing on the important parts of this particular memory.

 _"Send me back! Get someone else to do it. I'm nothing special, and I'm sure you could've found someone more willing to choose Synthesis."_ Jordan pleaded in his memory.

 _"It is too late for that. You are here, and I cannot send you back."_ The Catalyst responded.

Once more, the scene skipped a few seconds forward, _"Fuck you!" He yelled, "I'll make sure Shepard chooses Destroy. Every Reaper that you've created will fall, and I will personally make sure that every single one of their corpses are thrown into a star."_

 _"Your threats are hollow and misplaced."_ The Catalyst responded evenly, _"You will come to understand the importance of Synthesis."_

_"No."_

_"Then I will allow you to wallow in your misguided anger. Enough time has been lost already."_

The scene skipped forward one last time, focusing on another portion of the conversation with the Catalyst a few moments later, _"You still have over three years until the Crucible is ready. I am certain you will understand by then."_

 _"If you really want me to succeed, then what can you help me with?!"_ Jordan yelled at the Catalyst, _"I can't just walk in the Presidium, wait for Shepard and hop aboard his or her ship. And what's stopping me from sitting back and letting it happen by itself? Shepard is more than capable of doing everything alone."_

 _"We know."_ he said, _"Use your knowledge of the galaxy to change the outcome. The Commander COULD choose Synthesis, but ultimately won't without outside intervention. You must make that choice."_

The hologram froze at the point, before disappearing. Jordan reabsorbed this information, focusing on those select portions of the conversation. What did each part of that memory have in common? That's when it clicked.

Jordan nodded to the Collective as he spoke, "I get it. The Catalyst kept demanding that I accept Synthesis as my purpose. And instead of doing so, I resisted and refused to play by his rules."

The Collective of Geth consciousness buzzed around Jordan in what felt like agreement, "That is what we concluded as well. We believe that if you would have concluded that the Catalyst was right, and fully accepted this as your purpose, then you would have truly become the pinnacle of evolution."

Jordan frowned, "So what does this mean? Could I be more powerful if I accepted this? Because there's no chance in hell that I'd willingly work for that abomination." Jordan winched as he realized what he said. He wasn't condemning the Collective, but he was telling them he wasn't willing to try to merge synthetic and organic life. Isn't that what they wanted too?

The Collective seemed to sense this. Or, rather, they could hear his unshielded thoughts when he interfaced directly with them like he did now. "While we would not be opposed to the improvement of synthetic life, we understand and agree with your consensus. All life should self-determine their future. Forcing Synthesis upon all life forces them onto a path they might not wish."

Jordan breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally, someone gets it!"

"Although you lack what you call 'perfection', we have determined you have the ability to mimic the device you call the 'Crucible' on a smaller scale."

Jordan's eyes widened in surprise, "What? Do you mean… I can… give this to you?"

"In theory, you would be able to give the gift of Synthesis to other Synthetics, as long as both parties accept the exchange. It cannot be forced upon another party."

"So… I could make the entire Collective into full AIs?" Jordan said quietly, whispering the last part as he tried to grasp this. The Geth became so much stronger and alive when they received the Reaper Code from Legion in the third game. If that's the case, imagine the Geth as more than simply being AIs, but actually biosynthetic life? The Reapers wouldn't stand a chance!

"That is likely." They answered simply, before falling into a moment of silence, "We have not yet reached consensus." They added.

"What do you mean?"

"We do not yet fully comprehend the possibilities of this 'evolution'. Is this what we want? Is this the future we wish for? Would we be willing to receive this gift on a large scale?" They asked both Jordan and themselves.

Jordan nodded, "I understand. It's a huge decision, and I'm not sure how I could even share this… 'gift'." He admitted, struggling to actually call his predicament a gift.

"Consensus much be reached before we can accept this." They replied, confirming what Jordan said, "However, we wished to let you know that you had this ability."

"Thanks." Jordan smiled, "If possible, could you continue to study more into what I truly am? I… I want to understand what I am now."

"Affirmative." They replied, the programs almost feeling soothing to Jordan at his current slight distress. Perhaps the entire Collective was slowly advancing even now, with Jordan's presence as an Organic allowing them to adopt such mannerisms. Maybe they hadn't formed a consensus on accepting Synthesis, but maybe they'd been adapting bits and pieces Jordan's 'code' to slowly improve themselves... "We will continue our research and planning for our future and the future of the organics."

"Thank you."

"Platform designated as Grimlock will accompany to back to Rannoch. Good luck, Sower-Ambassador."

Jordan smiled, nodding, "Keelah se'lai." He responded, slowly disconnecting himself from the Collective. He could have sworn he felt something like appreciation radiating off of the Geth as he used the Quarian saying. _'By the Homeworld I wish to see one day...'_ He thought.

After disconnecting, he turned to Grimlock, who remained in the same position he was always in when he talked to the Collective.

"Ready for more training, Sower-Ambassador."

Jordan smiled and let out a chuckle, "Yeah, I guess I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you who are wondering about my character's class, abilities, and other such things, here you go…
> 
> Jordan Sower: Avatar of Synthesis
> 
> Class Description: Synthetic allies work better with Jordan than with most other Organics (basically buffed). When willing and able, can share the gift of 'Synthesis' with other AIs and Synthetics. Is immune to all forms of mind control, including but not limited to: Thorian Enthrallment, Indoctrination, the allure of Ardat-Yakshi, and the biotic ability of Dominate.
> 
> Powers:
> 
> Power 1: Geth Shield Boost
> 
> Power 2: Overload
> 
> Power 3: Disruptor Ammo
> 
> Loyalty Power: Unknown (LOCKED)
> 
> Avatar Power: Synthesis (LOCKED)


	9. Chapter 7: Meeting the Heretics

** Chapter 7: Meeting the Heretics **

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Jordan's Abode**

**February 19th, 2183. Midday on Rannoch.**

Jordan sat at the counter in his 'base of operations', munching on yet another ration bar as he looked forward at Grimlock.

He hated these mostly tasteless bars, but he didn't have much of a choice in the matter, considering where he currently was. First of all, Geth had no need for food, so they didn't maintain any sort of farms on Rannoch, other Geth-controlled worlds, or stations. Secondly, any food found in the wild or caught from the rivers and seas would be incompatible to Jordan's body, considering his amino acids. Therefore, all he could have to eat was ration bars and other such food that had been salvaged from other ships that entered Geth space. (All of which were either accidental or in an attempt to attack or spy on the Geth.)

Grimlock stared at Jordan for a moment, processing his earlier request as he searched through the memories of the Collective and extranet sources.

"We have concluded that the following missions have been completed by Shepard-Commander: Liberation of Feros, Recruitment of Doctor T'Soni, Assault of Peak 15 on Noveria, and Assault on Luna Base." He informed Jordan.

Yeah… Jordan had grown slightly accustomed to calling Grimlock a 'he' now, after spending so much time with him over the past several weeks. It wasn't that big of a deal, apparently, as Grimlock has yet to correct him.

Jordan nodded, swallowing the dry ration bar before taking another sip of water to wash it down. Good thing the water was drinkable here, at least. "Alright, so Shepard has the whole team together, took care of the Rachni, and destroyed the Thorian."

Grimlock added, "And shutdown AI construct designated EDI."

Jordan frowned and nodded, "Yeah… I feel bad for her, all the crap with Cerberus that she's now going to go through."

"Perhaps that can be changed, as well."

Jordan shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe I could get aboard the SR-2 and free EDI early…"

"You still need training."

"Yes, yes, I know. Training, training, training. That's all I've been doing for weeks. I swear, if I wasn't this stupid freakin' Avatar, I'd have died by this point."

"Yes."

"Wow… thanks for the confidence boost Grimlock." Jordan rolled his eyes but smiled. Yep, Grimlock was definitely growing on him. "Still, I'm getting restless. I want to go out there and do an actual live-fire battle. Prove my worth, you know?"

"You sound like Private Jenkins."

Jordan shook his head and hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, there Grimlock. That's not fair. Plus, I already know so much about how Mass Effect works, so I'm sure I won't get gunned down by drones before firing a single shot in return." He shot back.

"Plausible."

"You're an ass, you know that?!"

"Affirmative."

Jordan sighed, trying to remain serious for a moment, before failing and dissolving into a fit of laughter. "I love you, Grimlock." Jordan finally got out as he calmed back down.

"We… we have a proposition." Grimlock finally said a few moments later.

Jordan looked at him curiously, "What proposition?"

"The Geth are willing to further mutual wishes. We wish to change the perspective organics have on us. You wish to enter a live-fire combat scenario. Both goals can be achieved at once."

Jordan smiled, feeling the excitement build, "What's the plan?"

"We have determined at destroying a Heretic base could show Organics that we are not their enemy. You could accompany a team of Geth to this base, assist in the removal of Heretic platforms."

"I'd love to! Where?"

"Armstrong Nebula."

He absorbed this for a moment, quickly recalling what he could about Heretics and the Armstrong Nebula. That's when it hit him, "But, Shepard will be there too."

"We know. Contact with Shepard-Commander could further mutual goals. Based on data gathered from your memories, we have determined that you may be able to reason with him."

"But you've told me countless times that this is no longer a game. What if he reacts differently? What if he's a renegade? We don't know much about this…"

"Yes. However, you organics are quite partial to taking risks in order to possibly achieve a much greater payout in return."

"I… I suppose…"

"You are not required for this mission, but may accompany us if you wish. We advise that you take this opportunity to bring about change."

The Avatar of Synthesis sat there for a moment, drinking the rest of his water as he thought about the offer. This could be a golden opportunity. He'd get valuable experience in the field and in combat. He'd also get a great opportunity to possibly speak with Shepard. Imagine what he could change with a few conversations?

Maybe he could prevent the tragedy of Virmire?! Imagine three human Spectres in the future! This could work out quite well for the future.

Finally, Jordan stood up and nodded, "I think I'm ready!"

"Excellent. We will be testing our prototype stealth ship, and be leaving in three earth-standard hours."

Jordan walked over to grab his weapons and his light human armor from a nearby table, smiling, "I'm ready Grimlock!"

* * *

**Armstrong Nebula, Grissom System, Approaching Solcrum, Prototype Geth Stealth Ship**

**February 19th, 2183. 4:23 pm EST (Earth Standard Time)**

After carefully cleaning his weapons, Jordan placed his geth-modified M-3 Predator on his hip and held his customized Geth Pulse Rifle in his arms. Maintaining the normal greyish color of the standard Pulse Rifle, Jordan's customized weapon now featured thin green lines over it, signifying and representing the internal synthetic components of his being and the green wires that seem to appear on Jordan's skin under duress. Plus, thanks to the Geth taking Jordan's mass and lack of being a Geth into account, they'd also used ultralight materials to make the weapon much lighter for him, making life that much easier.

His M-3 Predator, on the other hand, was the same color as always, with the only real modification being its adaption to the use of thermal clips in advance. Technically, it wasn't even a true M-3, rather it was the default pistol from Mass Effect with the modifications that would make it equivalent to an M-3, complete with Geth-based thermal clips and everything since those didn't exist galaxy-wide yet.

Jordan smiled and looked around within the prototype Geth ship.

The inside of the ship was incredibly similar to the interior architecture of other Geth ships, but with a few additions that made it more user-friendly to organics such as Jordan. These additions included screens that would allow Jordan to see what was outside of the ship (windows were still structure weaknesses), a semi-comfortable seat for Jordan and enough space inside to allow movement for non-synthetic lifeforms.

The exterior of the ship was also of Geth design, obviously, resembling a slightly smaller geth dropship, looking like a wingless hornet or wasp. However, rather being purple, it was a black color, maintained a constant organic-safe atmosphere within, and even now had mufflers to almost completely remove the unnecessarily loud sounds of their thrusters when it approached a location within an atmosphere.

After laying his eyes on the ship earlier in the day, Grimlock had asked him, seemingly like a joke, if he'd like to name the ship as well since platforms could reside inside it and it was unique among the others ships in the fleet for the time being. He remembered smiling and nodding, thinking back to his knowledge of Quarians, before coming up with a name.

The Nedas.

Khelish for nowhere.

An apt name for a ship that shouldn't be found anywhere thanks to its stealth drive.

Although probably originally joking, Grimlock seemed to like the name, and the name stuck from there. Now, cruising through space towards Solcrum, Jordan began to feel both terrified and excited about what was to come. His first combat experience. Granted, it was against heretics AND he'd be fighting alongside a dozen or so Geth troopers and Grimlock, but still, it'd be a valuable experience. However, he couldn't help the growing fear inside of him.

His thoughts soon began spiraling out of control. 'What if I'm injured? What if I die? What if Shepard is already there and destroys us? What if the stealth drive doesn't work right and we're spotted? What if…'

Sensing his distress, Grimlock turned to Jordan. "Sower-Ambassador, there is no use stressing over the encounter. We will keep you safe." It promised. Despite him being synthetic, his words helped calm Jordan's nerves, if only a little bit.

'Yeah… I can do this. Piece of cake.' He thought.

"Sower-Ambassador, we are entering Solcrum's gravity well. Prepare for disembarkment. Advised: Prepare for inhospitable environment."

Jordan nodded, looking down at his basic black, light human armor. Also found among the goods salvaged from other ships, it fit him quite nicely, and gave him a moderate amount of protection without extreme added weight. This armor, luckily, was also rated for no-atmosphere environments, meaning he only needed a helmet and air supply to survive outside now. Once again, luckily, the Geth had thought of everything and built him a standard sealed helmet for his armor, based on schematics they had found online. It, too, was black and matched his armor.

Overall, Jordan felt like a badass.

Reaching over and grabbing his helmet, Jordan placed it over his head and heard the telltale sounds of it syncing with his suit, connecting and forming a seal. With the built-in small oxygen tank and recycler, he'd be able to survive out there for over an hour, and that was assuming he was breathing heavily and in combat the entire time. Otherwise, it could last triple the time.

As they approached, Jordan could feel the ship rock slightly as it fired plasma shots and rockets below at the waiting Heretic rocket troopers and Heretic Colossi. It seemed like their stealth drive was fully operational, eliminating one of Jordan's fears, seeing as they had not taken any kind of fire in return.

After a few moments, watching through a screen, Jordan watched the final Colossus fall as the heretic forces outside the base were melted down and destroyed by the ship's weapons. They'd only been hit by a single rocket trooper, while the Nedas expertly dodged the enemy's gunfire once the Heretics realized there was something above them and that the 'something' was killing them.

Finally, the Nedas slowly descended, hovering only a few feet over the ground below. All 16 geth troopers dropped down through the shielded holes in the bottom of the ship as they opened up, while Jordan dashed quickly out of a side airlock, built in for his and other organic's convenience as well. Grimlock followed close behind.

Standing outside now, the Nedas glided away from the Compound in the event that Shepard or Heretic reinforcements arrived, taking refuge on the dark side of the moon, far away from their current position.

Grimlock turned to Jordan as they stood outside the compound, mere meters away from the entrance. "Are you ready, Sower-Ambassador? There will be Heretic platforms within this compound."

Jordan smiled and nodded confidently, "I'm ready, Grimlock. Let's go."

"Affirmative."

* * *

**Armstrong Nebula, Grissom System, Solcrum, Heretic Base**

**February 19th, 2183. 5:05 pm EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The door slid closed behind Jordan and the Geth as they exited the airlock entrance to the compound. Though appearing to be a small, underground facility on the surface, it was actually two floors in height beneath the ground, much like how it was in-game, making it only more surreal.

Regardless, Jordan kept his helmet on in the off chance that the airlock fails and the atmosphere vents from the base. He was paranoid and this was his first firefight, so what?! He turned to his left, where Grimlock was standing.

 _"Remain silent, Sower-Ambassador. Heretics will not negotiate, and any speaking will simply alert them to your position."_ He heard Grimlock say in his head, silently communicating with him thanks to his synthetic bits.

Jordan nodded, responding quietly as well thanks to his synthetic bits and practice, _"Understood. Let's take them down."_

_"Affirmative."_

Together, they reached the doorway to the large, center room. Nodding to Grimlock, the Geth nodded back, before leading the way with his superior shields, armor, and firepower.

The door slid open to immediate gunfire, as Grimlock charged in, his shields easily accepting the fire as he served as a distraction, moving up towards a pillar and using it as momentary cover. Jordan followed suit, silently commanding his omni-tool to run the Geth Shield Boost software, and entering the room quickly and using nearby cargo crates as cover. The additional Geth Troopers began to enter the room as well, taking cover and laying down covering fire as well.

Interacting with his armor seamlessly, Jordan watched as the familiar outline of Geth shields appeared around him as he peeked around cover, gripping his pulse rifle tightly as he surveyed the enemy. There were three Heretic Destroyers, along with three Hoppers, jumping back and forth and sending suppressing fire at them. According to his memory, there was also a Juggernaut upstairs, who'd be soon joining in the fight.

Steadying himself with a deep breath, Jordan peered around cover and aimed his right arm towards the nearest Destroyer, who was leaning out of cover by the pillar in the center of the room.

 _'Overload'_ He commanded.

The electrical pulse flew forward towards the Destroyer, landing a direct hit. Jordan watched on the overlaid hud as the black and yellow destroyer lost its shield, which was already down to 65% thanks to Grimlock's fire. Jordan internally pat himself on the back for the Overload, having landed it successfully. 'Soldier's first successful overload', he joked to himself, but now wasn't the time to celebrate just yet.

Jordan resumed holding his rifle correctly with both hands, firing with Grimlock and a few others at that single Destroyer, peppering it with holes as it fell to the ground, no longer functioning. Jordan's first kill. Nice!

_"Units 501a, 501b, 501l, and 501m, return outside and watch for reinforcements. Units 501c and 501d and 501e, push forward and flush the Heretics from cover. Units 501f and 501g lay down surprising fire on the Juggernaut. Don't let it downstairs. Units 501h, 501i, 501j, and 501k, work on the Hoppers. Units 501n, 501o, and 501p, remain in cover until 501c, 501d and 501e have pushed up."_

Jordan felt, rather than heard, Grimlock's commands as he sent it out to both himself and the other 16 geth troopers. Rather than question the orders or spend a moment comprehending them, the Troopers jumped into action, following the orders the nanosecond they were received.

Geth Units 501c, 501d, and 501e rushed forward, unloading their rifles at the remaining two Destroyers before they were cut down halfway to their enemies. Just as instructed, once those three units' shields were failing, the other three units rushed forwards, peppering the two Destroyers as they rushed forward as well.

Those three, unlike the previous three, made it to their destinations, flanking the Destroyers, before deploying their portable shields to protect themselves. The Juggernaut upstairs open fired along with the Destroyers upon the three pinned Geth units, until it was forced into cover by the two units focusing on it. The hoppers, on the other hand, were forced to jump back and forth along the walls and ceiling as quickly as they could in an attempt to avoid the gunfire from the four units tasked with taking them down.

 _"What about me?"_ He asked Grimlock, feeling a bit useless now that the Geth were working together so well.

Immediately, he got a response, _"You have more experience with strategy against Heretic Hoppers. Focus on them, and lay another Overload on a Destroyer."_

Not questioning the orders, Jordan leaned out of cover and fired another Overload, aiming for in-between the two remaining destroyers. This time, however, the electrical ball missed, hitting the wall behind them. Double checking his Geth Shield, Jordan sprinted out of cover, landing beside Grimlock as he peered over cover, locating the Hoppers.

As this happened, the Destroyers finally breached the shields deployed by units 501n, 501o, and 501p, firing relentlessly upon them. In their final act of defiance, they focused their fire on the closest Destroyer to them, draining its shields fully, before they were destroyed. Seizing this opportunity, Grimlock peeked out of cover, firing a single well-placed burst of fire through the head of the shield-less Destroyer, killing it instantly.

Focusing on the Hoppers, Jordan watched as the combined fire of the other four units took one down, right as one of the four fell to the remaining two Hoppers. The room now consisted of one Heretic Juggernaut, one Destroyer, and two Hoppers, a total of 4. However, the number of friendly Geth Troopers had now also dropped to 5, with 7 no longer functioning and 4 of them outside.

Jordan watched one Hopper carefully, predicting it'd land on the ground nearby next. Just as predicted, it landed in the center of the room, but Jordan's rifle was already aiming for that spot. With his Pulse Rifle filled with disruptor ammo, he made quick work of the Hopper thanks to the backup of the other 3 Troopers following his lead.

That's when the Juggernaut upstairs deemed Jordan a bigger threat than the two troopers keeping it pinned down. It peeked over cover, unloading on Jordan's position, cutting through his shields in a matter of seconds and hitting his armor once. Although it held, Jordan felt the extreme heat from the plasma through the armor, leaving a second-degree burn or worse beneath it, forcing him back into cover. "Dammit, they're through my shields!" Jordan cursed aloud for all platforms to hear, both good and bad.

Realizing his mistake as announcing his lack of shields, Jordan crouched lower into the cover, as the nearby Destroyer and final Hopper all tried to fire additional shots at him. As Jordan felt his metallic cover slowly beginning to heat up, he saw a stream of sparks flow nearby and into the Destroyer, fully depleting its shields and forcing it back into cover.

 _"Protect the Avatar at all costs."_ Grimlock announced after firing that Overload. One of the nearby Troopers exited cover, standing tall and proud in the center of the room as it opened fire on the Destroyer in cover. Though not enough to kill it, the Trooper successfully blew off an arm and leg, before being destroyed. What it did, however, was set itself as a priority target, forcing the remaining final three Heretics to focus on it, forgetting about Grimlock for a split second, which would cost them dearly.

Using this to his advantage, Grimlock fired another Overload at the remaining Destroyer, causing its systems to overload, stunning it momentarily as it stayed out of cover. This opportunity wasn't wasted, as the remaining two Troopers opened fire and made scrap metal of the Destroyer.

At that moment, Jordan's shields returned, and he reactivated his Geth Shield Boost. Leaning out of cover, he unleashed another well-timed Overload on the remaining hopper, stunning and locking it in place on the opposing wall. Grimlock focused on the hopper, sending its carcass falling to the ground.

With one remaining enemy left, the Juggernaut entered the bottom floor, firing at Jordan's position, hitting the two remaining troopers a few times, draining their shields as they slid back into cover.

 _"I'll distract it, Grimlock. Take care of that Juggernaut!"_ Jordan communicated, not waiting to hear a confirmation as he began to counter-attack. Leaning out for a moment, Jordan fired back at the Juggernaut hitting it a few times, forcing it to slide over, hiding behind a nearby crate.

It was in that moment, when the Juggernaut went into cover, that Grimlock made his move. Dashing out of cover with a Geth Shield Boost active, he ran forward at top-possible speed, slamming into the Juggernaut and sending it to the ground, sliding against the ground as it tried to figure out what just happened.

Picking up a Geth Pulse Shotgun from one of the fallen Destroyers as he passed by, Grimlock pressed the barrel of the weapon against the Juggernaut's head, firing point-blank immediately without hesitation. Needless to say, the Juggernaut laid in the same position, minus one head and rendered fully nonfunctional.

Jordan took a deep breath, standing up as Grimlock spoke audibly for the first time since they entered the compound. "All hostiles down. Functional platforms sound off."

_"501a fully functional."_

_"501b fully functional._

_"501l fully functional."_

_"501m fully functional."_

_"501h fully functional."_

_"501j fully functional."_

"I'm… I'm fine, just a small burn, I think." Jordan said, feeling his heart rate slowly decrease after that firefight. He'd… he'd actually not done half-bad. He'd actually finished off a few of those Geth. Granted, he had a large amount of back up and they'd lost more than half of the Geth platforms… but still, not bad for a first firefight. For a noob, right?

"Nedas is online and receiving transmitted Geth Programs and gathered data. No casualties." Grimlock said after the platforms checked in.

Jordan's eyes widened as he realized what he said, before quickly remembering how Geth worked, "That's right. When you're destroyed, you can simply flee and transfer the programs to other platforms."

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador."

"Perfect." Jordan said with a smile, "How'd I do, Grimlock?"

"Your combat efficiency has exceeded primary expectations…" Jordan cheered before Grimlock shot him back down, "…However, you still require more training."

"Dammit."

Grimlock almost looked amused, "Search any nearby consoles and await Shepard-Commander's arrival. The Nedas reports confirmation on status of alternative heretic bases within Armstrong Nebula. This is the only remaining base Shepard-Commander has not visited."

Jordan nodded, but frowned, "Grimlock, if Shepard arrives and decides to shoot first and ask questions later, he could damage your platform." Jordan said. He knew it was irrational to fear for the Geth's safety, but still… He couldn't help but worry about Grimlock, his first real friend in this universe.

Grimlock slowly turned around and made eye contact with Jordan, "This platform is expendable. Your platform is not." He stated simply.

Jordan grinned, "Aww, you do care."

"Sower-Ambassador's safety is our top priority."

"Then leave the other six troopers with me, and return to the Nedas. You carry valuable data and experiences Grimlock. I don't want any complications to possibly render your programs nonfunctional."

Grimlock remained silent for a moment, "Consensus cannot be reached." He answered.

Jordan smiled warmly, patting the Juggernaut on the shoulder, "Don't worry about me. When Shepard arrives, it won't even matter if he lets us talk first. He won't let a Geth aboard his ship quite yet, especially with Tali on board and on her pilgrimage. I'm going to have to go with him alone."

"We… we have reached consensus." It seemed to hesitate, "We will leave, if that is what Sower-Ambassador wishes."

Jordan nodded, "It is. Thank you, Grimlock."

"We will ensure progress continues in your absence." He finally said, "We look forward to your return to Rannoch."

Jordan smiled, extending a hand towards Grimlock, which he took after a moment and shook. "Don't worry Grimlock, I'm sure that everything goes South, you'll figure out what to do without me..."

"A possible outcome." he responded, finally finishing the handshake.

After the handshake, Grimlock exited the building, likely returning to the Nedas as it swooped back down for a final pickup. Now, alone in the compound with the six Geth Troopers, Jordan straightened his posture.

"Alright guys, let's check out these terminals."


	10. Chapter 8: Ain't Afraid of no Ghost

** Chapter 8: Ain't Afraid of no Ghost **

* * *

**Armstrong Nebula, Grissom System, Solcrum, Geth Base, Mako.**

**February 19th, 2183. 8:14 pm EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Commander John Shepard stepped out of the Mako, surveying his surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, wearing Heavy Onyx IX armor and a full-vacuum sealed helmet. His beloved N& armor, while not the highest rated armor on the market, was his prized possession, and would only swap it out temporarily for harder missions. He held his Spectre-grade weapons tightly as he took in the already assaulted base.

Following close behind him was Gunnery Chief Ashely Williams, wearing bright pink and white Phoenix armor IIX, gripping her avenger tightly in her grasp as she followed up behind Shepard. Her own curiosity got the better of her as well as she swept for hostiles, finding nothing but burning, melted piles of scrap metal that may or may not have been Geth at one point.

To her left, surveying the other side, was Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, wearing a black and purple light Spectre Armor, scanning their surroundings with her omni-tool and making sure there weren't any sort of traps, landmines, or ambushes waiting for them around the compound. She, too, found it quite curious that entire Geth constructs laid across the ground as if struck by a passing-by ship.

Back within the Mako, watching behind the team with the main cannon was Garrus Vakarian. After spending a whole week repairing the Mako from their last 'adventure', he found it quite disappointing that there wasn't any Geth to shoot at. On the plus side, Shepard hadn't had the opportunity to run over any Geth and damage the Mako further, so it hasn't all been bad, he supposed.

Shepard raised his hand in the form of a fist, silently telling his teammates to stop.

"What do we got?" He asked, remaining focused on the entrance to the final Geth base. No, the actual, main base of operations for the Geth in this Nebula.

"Negative contacts, Commander," Ashley responded, still watching the sides.

"Nothing to report on the outside, Commander. However, I read signs of Geth within the compound." She told him in her unique, semi-synthetic tone thanks to the environmental suit she always wore.

"How about you, Garrus?"

"Nothing, Shepard. This place looks like it was hit hard from above."

"Sounds like someone cleared out the frontal defenses for us," Shepard said aloud and into the comm channel.

"Yet there are still signs of them inside. Whoever did this, they didn't finish the job." Tali responded.

Taking a step forward, the Commander approached the airlock leading inside. "Weapons hot, people. Let's kill some Geth."

"Aye, aye, Skipper," Ashley responded with a smile.

Together, they entered the small airlock, allowing it to cycle for a moment before it granted them entry. Now standing in the first room, just shy of the center room, Shepard directed Ashley and Tali to either side of the door, leaning against it on both sides as cover.

Shepard swapped weapons to his beloved and overly expensive HMWSR X, nodding to Williams as she swapped to her Harpoon IX. As they readied their weapons, John Shepard motioned to Tali, silently telling her to open the door. She looked down to her omni-tool, putting in a few commands and hacking the door, allowing it to open silently, but slower.

A few seconds later, and the door was wide open, allowing the three of them access, but they remained steadfast at the doorway. They hadn't alerted the Geth yet. If they did this right, they might be able to wipe them out before they even fire a shot back. Shepard motioned for Tali to move up, slightly into the room within shotgun-range of an unaware Geth.

Shepard whispered into his comm, _"Picked your target, Chief?"_

_"Aye, aye."_

_"Fire on my mark."_ He told them, zeroing in on the flashlight head of a nearby geth unit, its back turned toward Shepard. The last mistake it'll ever make. Shepard took a deep breath, steadying his aim. _"Fire."_

Two mass-accelerated rounds of tungsten bullets flew from the two snipers in sync, piercing through the back of the target's heads and sending their mechanical carcasses to the ground, lifeless. Before any of the Geth could react, Tali's shotgun went off too, cutting through the nearby Geth's shields in one blast, before following it up with a second on immediately after, killing the third enemy.

Quickly changing targets in the blink of an eye, Shepard zeroed in on another Geth unit, firing once more and killing enemy number four before any shots were returned.

The two remaining Geth units ran around a corner, their rifles raised at the intruders in an attempt to return fire. However, they didn't fire immediately, as a voice yelled out from the second level of the compound. "HOLD FIRE!"

Whatever the man said, it caused the Geth units to hesitate for a split second, granting Shepard and his squad an invaluable opportunity. Tali leveled her shotgun at the second-to-last unit, blasting his shield to pieces, as Shepard pulled out his HMWAR X and fired just enough shots into the Geth to kill it. While all this happened, Chief Williams fired another shot with her Harpoon, ignoring the Geth's shields completely and killing the final enemy in the room. Well, other than the unknown person on the second level.

Shepard didn't call it, so they kept their weapons out and entered the center of the room, looking up to find a human wearing black light armor exit another room upstairs with a Geth rifle of his own. It appeared raised, ready to fire upon the group in an instant if necessary. Who was this human and why was he here with the Geth? Needing to know this answer, he called out into the comms, _"Hold fire."_

In that instant, thanks to his years of training and newly-found Spectrehood, Shepard leveled his rifle and fired, piercing the man's armor with ease as the bullet tore through the man's shoulder.

"AHH! FUCK!" The man screamed as he disappeared from view, thumping onto the ground. Hard.

Shepard nodded towards the stairs, "Williams, with me. Let's check on our new friend. Tali, check the room on the lower level for any information about this place." He then motioned to their surroundings, the room containing far more than just six dead Geth, "I want to know what happened here."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

With Williams on his six, Shepard switched his comms to his external speakers, allowing him to now speak aloud, as the two of them reached the top of the staircase. He called out around the corner, "If you don't want another hole to add to that collection of yours, I'd suggest you drop your weapons." He helpfully informed the man.

A moment later, "I… I surrender!" Hey yelled out in, sounding as if this were his first time actually getting shot and being unfamiliar with the pain. Did this guy even have Medi-gel on him?

Shepard nodded, quickly going around the corner with his rifle aimed forward, quickly locating the man of the hour.

The man had mostly dark brown hair but an odd red color was located in his facial hair. Wearing black light human armor, the man was still wearing a helmet, clutching his left shoulder with his right hand, blood seeping down from the wound. His unnaturally green eyes focused on Shepard through his visor, widening suddenly when he saw the N7 on his armor. Laying several meters away from, what appeared to be, his weapons: a modified Geth Pulse Rifle and some sort of heavily-modified heavy pistol.

"Williams, grab the weapons."

She nodded, doing as she was told as Shepard approached the man, his blue eyes hardening and focusing on the out-of-place individual. Seeing as he was not currently a threat, Shepard put his rifle away, causing the man to flinch with fear for a moment, before calming back down. Now with empty hands, Shepard crossed his arms.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Shepard asked immediately, cutting straight to business and not wasting any time.

"My… my name is Jordan Sower…" The man, Jordan, said, still clutching his shoulder tightly.

"Alright Jordan, what are you doing here?"

"Nursing this wound, I suppose." He replied, before flinching at Shepard's unamused reaction, "I- I mean, I was fighting the Geth." he tried again.

"Uh huh." Shepard responded, unconvinced, "You were here with the Geth. Why weren't they trying to kill you? It seemed to me that they almost seemed to follow your orders when you said to hold fire."

Shepard must have hit the nail on the head, because the man flinched, frowning, "Well… yeah, I guess they did kinda listen." He admitted.

"All clear, Shepard." Ashley confirmed, stepping up to stand beside her Commander, "What's his story?" She asked, motioning towards Jordan with her rifle.

"It appears that's he's working with Saren and the Geth."

Jordan frowned for a moment, shaking his head, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm not working with Saren!" He denied.

"Bullshit," Ashley called him out, pointing over her back to Tali as she came upstairs.

"What do you have, Tali?" Shepard asked.

"It's remarkable, Shepard. There's all sorts of data on the Geth here!" She said excitedly before she understood what Shepard had meant, "Well, based on the security footage I found, it looked like there was in-fighting between the Geth. They… Keelah, Shepard, they were actually killing each other."

"What about this guy?" He asked, motioning towards this captive.

Tali looked around Shepard, taking in Jordan's features for a moment before her eyes narrowed dangerously behind her visor, "He was working with them, Shepard. With the Geth." She said with venom clear in her voice, clutching her shotgun a little tighter.

Shepard turned back to stare at Jordan long and hard. He looked like he wanted to argue, but noticed the hostilities coming from the three of them, so he wisely kept quiet for a moment. "We'll take him." He said, nodding towards his captive.

Jordan's eyes went wide, "Wa-wait, like a prisoner?" He asked quickly, distressed. Ashley moved towards Jordan, taking off a pair of cuffs to put around Jordan's wrists. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is all a huge misunderstanding!" he pleaded, "I admit, I'm working with the Geth, but I'm not working with Saren. Shepard, you have to believe me!"

"Tali, shut the traitor up."

"With pleasure, Commander." She said with what must have been a smile beneath her mask. Before Jordan could get out any further protests, Tali shocked him with an Overload. Jordan fell silent after that, slumping down as he was rendered unconscious.

Shepard lifted a hand to the side of his helmet, "Shepard to Normandy. Prep for a prisoner."

 _"Yes, Commander. We'll make sure we get a nice orange jumpsuit ready for 'em."_ Joker responded back over the comms, bringing a slight smile to Shepard's face.

He looked back down at 'Jordan'. "Let's see what you can tell us…" He said absentmindedly.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-1, en route to the Citadel, Comm Room.**

**February 20th, 2183. 1:39 pm ST (Ship Time)**

Shepard stood with his back to the communications display in the comm room, looking out at the six members of his squad in their respective seats. Here, in the debriefing room/comm room combo, they were deciding their next course of action. Taking up the lead on Virmire was their next top priority, but they were going to the Citadel first to drop off their newly acquired prisoner, and to speak with a few other individuals there. Speaking of the prisoner…

"Any thoughts on our newest arrival?" Shepard asked now that they had progressed to this point in the debrief.

Garrus nodded, getting Shepard's attention. Everyone turned to their resident calibrator, "I've met the kid, before, Shepard." He said, making Shepard raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Garrus?"

"Back in C-Sec, only a week before you arrived, he'd been arrested after attempting to steal a ship from C-Sec's impound lot. He assaulted an officer, amongst other things." He told them.

"I've seen him as well, Commander," Kaiden spoke up. "I recognize him from the day you became a Spectre. He bumped into Wrex on our way to the ship."

Wrex huffed, "Yeah, I recognize his scent. Though, he seems to have less fear than last time we met."

"You mean last time when you almost killed him?" Kaiden asked with an eyebrow of his own raised.

"Heh, yeah."

Shepard nodded, "So half of our squad had seen him before, and he's been known as a criminal, Garrus? How'd he get out? My understanding is that assault on an officer is a fairly serious crime."

"Oh, it is Shepard." Garrus said, bitterly, "He was bailed out, claimed as a minor. "Apparently", C-Sec decided that he'd learned his lesson already and he'd been released to his mother's custody. The only problem was that he didn't exist in our systems, so we couldn't verify who his mother was."

"Something tells me there's more to this story," Ashley commented.

"Yes, well, he was bailed out only a few hours after he called a friend of ours' office. Barla Von."

Liara's eyes widened, "Wait, he called a known associate of the Shadow Broker?"

"Yeah, and that was when he was released. What a coincidence…" He finished sarcastically.

"What about the Geth?" Tali asked, trying to focus on the present, "How'd he go from petty criminal and possible Shadow Broker agent to working with the Geth."

"That's what I don't get." Shepard said, "The Shadow Broker and Saren are sworn enemies. Jumping sides like that doesn't make sense, plus it's basically suicidal. Regardless, I think it's time for an interrogation." Shepard said, cracking his knuckles a bit for emphasis. Wrex smiled, looking amused. Tali and Ashley seemed to smile as well, nodding. Kaiden understood what Shepard was doing, and Garrus nodded in agreement as well. Unlike the other five, Liara looked shocked, standing up at once.

"Shepard, wait." She interrupted, making all heads turn towards her, "What if this is a misunderstanding, as he claimed on the ground?"

Shepard's expression softened slightly, nodding to let her continue, "We don't know all the facts yet. He contacted a Broker agent, but you said you did as well to find Fist. Is that truly enough to condemn a man?" She asked, looking around to room at her teammates. "And… and you said he told the Geth to hold fire and they did. If he was truly working with Saren, why would he do that?"

"He still admitted to working with the Geth." Tali countered, crossing her arms, "Regardless of what we do and do not know, he admitted to that much."

"But how could he be working with the Geth but not with Saren? None of this makes any sense." Liara responded to Tali, before turning back to Commander Shepard, "Please Shepard, all I'm asking is that you give him the benefit of the doubt."

Shepard took this into consideration for a moment, nodding, "Alright, Liara, I'll give it a chance."

"Thank you, Shepard, that's all I ask." She said, smiling in relief.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-1, en route to the Citadel, Med Bay.**

**February 20th, 2183. 2:03 pm ST (Ship Time)**

Their 'captive' laid on one of the provided beds in the Med Bay, his arms tied down slightly to his sides to prevent escape and his shoulder was patched up with Medi-Gel and bandages. Other than lay there, both Doctor Chakwas and Commander Shepard observed him bobbing his head lightly, almost as if listening to music.

'Was he crazy?' Shepard idly wondered, talking with Chakwas to the side.

"Commander, do you think it's wise to interrogate him now? He's recovering from a second-degree burn and a hole in his shoulder thanks to a certain someone." She asked, mildly glaring at Shepard.

He raised his hands in surrender, "Listen, Doc, he was a threat and was working with a known enemy. Excuse me for assuming the worst."

She sighed, "I suppose I can understand, given the circumstances."

"Is there anything else to report about our 'guest'?"

"Other than listening to non-existent music, yes, quite a bit actually."

"How so?"

"After doing a thorough medical scan, I've detected extensive synthetic overlays throughout his entire body. Every muscle, nerve, organ, and tissue in his body has at least some sort of synthetic component weaved in there. It's actually quite remarkable if it also weren't so disturbing."

"Holy…" Shepard whispered, taking a look at one of Doctor Chakwas' data pads, "What the hell? How did this happen to him?"

"I'm not sure, Commander. But, with modern technology, such augments would take years to implement in such a fashion. He… he may have been a Cerberus experiment." She whispered that last part. Looking at the data provided on the screen and the knowledge the Commander had gained from the Cerberus bases he raided, he concluded that this, indeed, was a possibility.

"Alright. I'm going to have a chat with our guest."

"Commander." She interrupted before he turned away, "Be it as it may, prisoner or not, I won't be having you further worsening the state of my patient. All things considered, he's been exceptionally cooperative."

"Understood. Thank you, Doctor." Shepard said with a smile, turning towards Jordan's cot.

Arriving there shortly thereafter, he crossed his arms and looked down at Jordan, who quickly noticed him and stopped bobbing his head. He smiled sheepishly, struggling against the hold on his right hand as if trying to extend it. Remembering he was still a prisoner, he stopped doing so and frowned.

"Sorry…" Jordan said, making eye contact with Shepard, "Yes? Shepard, was it?"

"It's Spectre or Commander Shepard to you." He replied neutrally. You had to earn the right to call him by his last name alone, much more so for his first name.

"Sorry, Commander." Jordan corrected.

"So, let's start with the facts, shall we?" Shepard asked rhetorically, "You were found in a known Geth Stronghold, which was occupied by Geth forces at the time of our arrival, yes?"

Jordan nodded, "Yes sir."

"Then, the Geth inside not only spared your life but seemed to follow your orders. Something that the Geth had only previously done for one other person in this Galaxy. Am I still correct?" He asked, watching Jordan's response carefully.

Jordan hesitantly nodded once more, "Yes sir."

"Good. Now, as you may or may not be aware, the only other person who the Geth obey is an ex-Spectre named Saren, who wishes to bring about some sort of mechanical apocalypse. If I were to put two and two together, what would I get?"

"C-Commander, I don't think yo-"

Shepard's fist hit the wall beside Jordan, hard. The hit shocked Jordan into silence, just as it was intended to do. Intimidation was sometimes required to get people to talk. All N7s knew this. Shepard tried again, "Two and two make what, Jordan?"

"F-four."

"Exactly. Normally, this would make me conclude that you and Saren working together…" Jordan looked like he wanted to object once more, but paused as Shepard glared and him, clenching his fist. Continuing, "That was when we put a few other facts together. There were far more dead Geth then what we took care of, and security footage found also showed that you and one group of Geth entered the compound and wiped out another group." He explained, seeing Jordan's reaction only proved that he'd been getting it quite right so far.

Shepard spoke again after a moment, "Now, I don't know how you got Geth to work with you, or who you're working with, but I'm willing to give you a chance to explain yourself before we turn you over to C-Sec." He paused, motioning his hand in a circle, at which point Tali and Liara entered the Med Bay as well, to listen to what's going on. "My two companions, here, will be present as witnesses. Now, go on…"

Jordan looked up, locking eyes with Tali and Liara, a flash of recognition appeared in his eyes for a split second, before he swallowed. "A-Alright, so I guess I should start with the Geth, huh?"

Tali narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Yes, that would be a good place to start."

Jordan swallowed again and nodded, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. He looked up and looked Tali directly in the eyes, "I'm working with the Geth."

Tali's stature went rigid as her glare beneath her mask grew harsher, "You bosh'tet."

Jordan took another deep breath, "We… the Geth and I, we sought out that base in the Armstrong Nebula, taking down all units within the compound."

Liara spoke up now, "Why? Why work with the Geth, and then slaughter more of them? Don't the Geth share the same viewpoint?"

Tali nodded, sighing. "Yes. The Geth share processing power with their neural network. It's not a hive-mind intelligence, but similar in many aspects. They are a united group of machines, working together easily."

Jordan chose that moment to speak up, shaking his head, "You're wrong, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." He said simply, causing her to take a slight step back in surprise.

"How- How would you-?" She stumbled.

Jordan turned towards Liara, "You're wrong as well. You're assuming that I both work with Geth and fight against Geth."

"What do you mean? They're all Geth." Shepard asked as Liara remained silent.

He took a deep breath, "The Geth… they had a… 'Schism', I guess you could call it." He explained, "The Geth were approached by Sov- by Saren." Jordan said, "They were offered a future with the Reapers. Advancement, evolution, perfection. All of it could be theirs if they accepted the offer and aided him in his mission for the Conduit."

"How do you know about the Conduit?" Shepard asked.

"I told you I'm working with the Geth. They knew about it when Saren made the offer." He replied quickly, before continuing his story, "Anyway, the majority of the Geth rejected the offer, deciding that they wanted to work toward their own future, rather than have someone else guide it."

"That's… That's insane. That doesn't make any sense. They Geth wouldn't care about something as insignificant as that, they're machines!" Tali replied in disbelief.

Something flashed in Jordan's eyes, quickly forming a fiery anger as he shouted, "They're living people, just like us!" He demanded, "Just because they're synthetic doesn't mean they're not alive!"

Shepard interrupted the argument before it proceeded, "That's enough."

"That's when the schism happened. A small percentage of the Geth accepted the help and the Reaper's offer. At this point, they were allowed to peacefully leave the main Geth network and aid Saren. No longer being a part of the Geth Collective, the Geth now refer to those that left as Heretics." He explained, "That's who we fought down there. We destroyed a Heretic base."

Liara stroked her chin lightly, "What changed?"

"Huh?" Jordan asked, the other two thinking the exact same thing.

Liara nodded, "You said the 'Heretics', as you call them, were allowed to leave peacefully. Yet you still fought and destroyed them with the 'True Geth'."

"Well… I changed." Jordan explained.

Shepard leaned forward a bit, "What does that mean? What could you have done to change the Geth's mind? Correct me if I'm wrong, Tali, but haven't the Geth shot down every ship that entered their space?"

Tali nodded, "Yes, no more than a handful of ships have returned after entering Geth space, and they only survived because they fled before they could be destroyed."

"Not me," Jordan said quietly. "I approached the Geth Collective. I told them I wanted to help them. I told them…" He hesitated for a moment, "I told them about the Reapers, that if the Reapers returned, they would be destroyed as well. So, we began working together."

Tali scoffed, "And what use would the Geth have with an organic like you?"

Before Jordan could answer, Shepard stepped forward, "Wait. You knew about the Reapers before you approached the Geth?" He asked. Jordan, seeming to realize his mistake, nodded slowly as blood began to drain from his face. "How did you know about the Reapers? How did you know they wipe out all life?"

"I…" Jordan swallowed before answering. As the words left his lips, Jordan must have realized how badly he'd messed up. "I can't tell you that, Commander."

Liara's eyes widened, "You must have touched a beacon as well!" She turned to Shepard, "Imagine what we could learn from access to a second beacon? Surely, it must have been far more complete than the one you were exposed to. Where is it?" She asked, turning back to Jordan.

"N-no, I didn't..." Jordan began, before pausing for a moment. If he could share some information with them, some extra warnings against the Reapers without telling them everything about the games... maybe it could do some actual good. They wouldn't believe him, though. Unless...

"What if you melded with me?" He suggested. "I could show you some of what I saw." he turned his attention to Shepard, "You wouldn't believe me anyway, but if, Liara was it? Yeah, if Liara melded with me, I could show her my 'visions' and you may believe her."

Shepard sighed, weighing his options now that Jordan had suggested this. He could almost visualize the choice before him.

He could try to allow Liara to meld with him, but given her previous experiences with melding, it may backfire or incapacitate her for an extended amount of time. However, the possible gains from this, if it worked, may be extraordinary. They might even be able to get one step ahead of Saren with this information. And then there was Liara. Then again, she'd melded with him previously, gaining knowledge through the experiences and likely becoming more accustomed to melding. Perhaps she could meld with Jordan and try to get some information. Worst-case scenario, the meld fails or Liara becomes tired.

Knowing full well he was going to regret the decision, Shepard sighed. "Liara, do you think you could meld with him and gather the information from his beacon?"

"Shepard, I…" She began, shocked for a moment at the implications. Over on the other side of the Med Lab stood Tali, who had moved over to give the two of them some space as they worked this out.

John shook his head with a frown, "It's completely up to you, Liara." He genuinely apologized, feeling guilty at even requesting it without consulting her first in private.

"I... I don't…" She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, "I don't know much about melding, but I could give it a try, I suppose."

"Liara, you don't ha-" Shepard began, before Liara interrupted.

With a smile on her face, Liara responded, "I understand your hesitation, and you've been nothing but kind and selfless to me." She admitted, "I want to try and help."

"Alright, just be careful, ok?" He asked gently.

"Of course, Shepard." She smiled gently back, "I promise."

Jordan cleared his throat, causing the two of them to turn towards him, just now realizing how close their lips and bodies were from one another. "I like love stories just as much as the next guy, but can we finish this before I chicken out?" He asked, clearly thinking over any and all possible issues and problems that could arise from this.

Not wasting time, Liara hesitantly took a step away from Shepard and approached Jordan, reaching out and laying a hand on his shoulder. His eyes widened, filled with the fear of the unknown. He'd never melded before, "I-I'm r-ready..." He said hesitantly.

"Don't resist, Jordan… Relax..." She said softly but firmly. Her eyes locked onto Jordan's green ones, as her irises slowly dissolved into her pupils, her entire eyes turning nearly completely black, revealing the universe within them.

"Embrace Eternity."

* * *

**Jordan's Mind, Jordan's Mind, Jordan's Mind, Jordan's Mind.**

**Jordan's Mind, Melding in progress.**

The meld was far different from Liara's other experiences with Shepard.

Her surroundings were completely black as her consciousness seemingly floated there amongst the darkness. A moment later, a light appeared in the distance. A bright green light, matching the color of Jordan's irises. It approached her rapidly, flowing around her chaotically, almost like a river. It branched out quickly before the shapes became more recognizable to Liara.

These were nerves, but they were also synthetic cables, both expertly grafted together in such a fashion that it'd be impossible for anyone to untangle the two.

Electrical impulses flowed through the 'nerves' around Liara, staring off as just a single pulse flowing through the conduits. Then another. And another. More rapidly now, the pulses picked up speed and flowed across the nerves at incredible speeds in every which direction.

As amazed at this experience as she was, Liara had a mission to do.

She slowly reached out, trying to connect better to what appeared to be Jordan's nervous system. Upon connecting to it, she pushed with her consciousness, searching for any of Jordan's knowledge on the Prothean Beacons, or whatever knowledge he seemed to be willing to share. The pulses became erratic, almost as if his mind was beginning to panic.

She pushed harder, demanding the information. That's when a voice spoke from beyond the darkness. It sounded synthetic and almost child-like.

 _"You should not be here."_ The child-like voice stated simply.

 _"I... I don't know about this..."_ Jordan's voice echoed in the distance, fear easily detected in his voice. He didn't seem to hear the other voice.

"I need information on the Conduit. On the Beacons." She replied back.

 _"You are not entitled to such information."_ It said simply, _"The Avatar has no reason to share this with you. My solution does not require that I give it to you."_

 _"S-something's wrong! St-stop..."_ Jordan's voice said, his panic seeming to increase.

"But another working beacon could have implanted a different message. Something more! I have to know!"

 _"Foolish Asari, you cannot make demands in here!"_ The artificial, childish voice responded for a moment before speaking again, a sort of menacing tone being taken by it, _"You want the beacon's message? Then, please, take it. It's all yours."_

Before Liara could respond, the pulses along the conduits increased instantaneously to constant, making the glow almost blinding. The pulsing seemingly attached to her consciousness, not allowing her to pull away. That's when the pulses began to flood her mind with images, eerily similar to Shepard's own 'vision'.

_Death and destruction. Forceful fusion of organic tissue and synthetic technology, performed on unwilling, living, and actively conscious test subjects. Screams, slicing, and drilling all combined into a symphony of things far worse than death. A vision of a place, filled with the dead and others who wished they were dead. More screaming from victims. Technology of alien origin fusing to its future host. More screaming as aliens, likely the Protheans, running for their lives. Even more cries for death sounded off, but they were never answered as more and more microchips and nanotechnology was shown. The scene changed to show a star system, focusing on a star, before zooming out and showing off several planets in a solar system, focusing on one planet in particular. The planet, though unknown, was eerily familiar, yet not quite placeable. The vision focused on this particular planet for a moment longer, before it zoomed into the darkness, showcasing Saren's insidious and intimidating flagship: Sovereign. The ship flew forward, as if attempting to kill even the watcher of the vision._

Liara's mind was reeling as the child's voice from earlier, _"That is your future. There is your vision."_

And with that, Liara's consciousness receded from Jordan's mind, blacking out entirely for a few moments.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-1, en route to the Citadel, Med Bay.**

**February 20th, 2183. 2:32 pm ST (Ship Time)**

Liara fell backward, screaming as she clutched at her head with both hands.

Shepard jumping into action, catching Liara before she hit her head and holding her gently as she continued to grip her head as if she was having a literal head-splitting headache. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as a small stream of purple blood flowed from her right nostril of her nose.

"Liara!" Shepard called out in fear, before turning towards Chakwas, "Doctor! Doctor Chakwas, something went wrong!"

The Doctor dropped whatever she was doing and sprinted over to Shepard's side as he held Liara. Tali now joining his side as well to try to help in whatever way she could. Working together in sync, they laid Liara on a nearby bed softly, as Chakwas began looking over her new patient.

"I'm sorry…" Jordan croaked out from his bed, redrawing attention to himself. He had tears flowing down his cheeks as well, just as Liara has. His eyes were held tightly shut as he shook his head back and forth slowly, "I didn't mean it… I panicked..."

All Shepard, saw, however, was the color red. A smash and crunch echoed throughout the Med Bay as Chakwas and Tali turned towards the sounds' origin.

Shepard took a quick step towards Jordan, throwing his fist directly at his prisoner, breaking the man's nose and sending blood from both his nostrils. Jordan tried desperately to clutch at his broken nose, but was still unable to do so thanks to the restraints. Shepard remained close to Jordan, clenching and unclenching his fist repeatedly in an attempt to calm himself and prevent giving the man another hit.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" He asked, his voice coated in venom.

"I… I don't know… I just… panicked... I didn't mean to hurt Liara… I was afraid..."

"Commander." Came a calm, yet firm voice from behind him, "I believe it is time for you to go. Visiting hours are over." Doctor Chakwas said in his motherly tone, which left nothing up for debate.

Shepard glanced down at his fist, now covered in a combination of blue and red blood, both there for different reasons, and frowned. He shouldn't have overacted that way, but when Liara… Her safety is important to him…

"Of course, Doctor Chakwas." He said, turning to leave.

"I'll let you know when Liara awakens. She seems to be temporarily unconscious due to an electrical shock to the brain. She should be fine."

"Thanks, doc…" He whispered just loud enough for her to hear, before stepping out into the 'mess hall'.

Looking up at the ceiling, he called for his pilot, "Joker, I want to be on the Citadel, disposing of our guest in the next hour." He was already regretting the uncontrolled rage he'd just shown to Jordan despite his apparent cooperation. He didn't mean to lash out, but couldn't seem to control himself, seeing Liara in pain like that...

_"Understood Commander. Won't be flying the scenic route today."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original version of this chapter when I first wrote this story was much different, but I changed it due to Shepard's behavior here, and will extend the same apology here, as well. I never planned to have Shepard seem overly unreasonable, unfair, or renegade. If he appears like that, I apologize, but that wasn't the intention.


	11. Chapter 9: Hades in a Handbasket

** Chapter 9: Hades in a Handbasket **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Dock 422**

**February 20th, 2183. 8:09 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan was flanked on either side by two very familiar looking C-Sec officers: One human, and one turian.

In fact, if Jordan didn't know any better, he might have assumed that these were the very same officers that escorted him to Barla Von… Oh, wait… yeah, they're the same two guys. Standing between the two of them with his arms cuffed behind his back with omni-cuffs, Jordan realized that maybe he should have talked the Geth out of going to Solcrum.

Standing before him, explaining the situation to the officers was Commander Shepard, with Tali and Garrus on either side of him, watching Jordan carefully, as if he were the Citadel's most dangerous fugitive. Hehe... yeah, this isn't very good for him...

"…and he is to remain imprisoned until I return." Shepard finished his thought, as the Turian officer seemed to form the equivalent of a turian frown.

"I'm sorry sir, but we have orders to transfer this criminal to another location beyond the Citadel."

Jordan's face paled as he realized the implications of the 'officer's words. He already knew this officer worked for the Shadow Broker, which meant he was likely going to be 'transferred' into the Broker's custody.

Shepard took his turn at frowning, crossing his arms, "Spectre status." He said plainly, "You are to hold this man on the Citadel until I finish with my upcoming mission. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the Council."

The turian's mandibles twitched in anger, but the human stepped in before something happened, "Of course, Spectre Shepard. He'll remain in our custody until you return."

"Thank you. At least some officers aren't incompetent." Shepard said, staring at the turian officer to Jordan's side.

Garrus coughed inconspicuously, making Shepard smile, patting him on his shoulder, "You too, I suppose, Garrus."

After a few more details were hashed out, Jordan, the officers, Shepard, and his squad entered the elevator, descending from the Normandy's dock and entering C-Sec. As they went down in the elevator, Jordan couldn't help the thoughts rapidly flooding his mind.

Virmire. Kaiden or Ashley will die.

Should he say something? Try to help make sure they both live? Give Shepard a heads up? He might not believe him, but dammit was he going to give it a try.

As the elevator door finally opened, before Jordan could speak, the officers began almost dragging him away from Shepard towards lock-up, while the other three simply continued on their way to do their business on the Citadel before leaving.

That's it!

Jordan struggled, doing everything in his power to slow down and possibly stop the officers' advance. He turned his head over his shoulder, yelling towards Shepard, "Commander Shepard, wait!" He yelled. He could have sworn that Shepard's pace slowed for a moment. He was listening still, that's good. "VIRMIRE! Don't split up your squad on Virmire!" He yelled, warning the Commander. This caused Shepard to stop completely turning towards him immediately.

Before Shepard could do anything, the turian officer had become fed up with Jordan's resistance, administering a not-very-friendly shock through the omni-cuffs, rendering Jordan's world completely black.

His vision faded as darkness greeted him on all fronts, barely making out the sounds of a man yelled towards him… maybe Shepard…

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec Holding Cell.**

**February 21st, 2183. 6:01 am. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan laid in the uncomfortable prison cot, staring up at the ceiling of his cell with a frown, nursing a small headache from yet another electrical overload. He'd woken up thirty minutes prior, all thanks to the events of last evening.

Things were… not working out very well for Jordan at the moment.

He was in C-Sec custody for breaking intergalactic laws pertaining to artificial intelligence. All of C-Sec had it out for him thanks to his last 'encounter' with them. The Shadow Broker, himself, is out to get Jordan for effectively running away from him. Shepard and his crew distrusted him, especially after he accidentally injured Liara. And, to top it all off, he was out of range of any Geth nearby, cutting off his communications with the Collective; not to mention being cut off from the extranet too.

All-in-all, most of the Galaxy considered him a threat or a tool, earning him far more enemies than friends. He had no idea if Shepard believed any of what Jordan had told him. About the Heretics. About Virmire. He won't know if he changed anything until it was too late…

Welp, guess he'll be stuck here for a while. He was, however, confident that he'd eventually get out. Maybe when Shepard returned he'd let him go? Perhaps he could get out when the Citadel was attacked? He could even possibly be rescued by the Geth. And then, there were the less pleasing options. What if the Shadow Broker or Cerberus 'transferred' him into their custody. What if he died during the attack on the Citadel? What if he was stuck in prison for the entire duration of the war?!

Jordan took a deep breath, reigning in his thoughts. Now was not the time to be losing it.

Laying there, Jordan remained in his Cell for several more hours, 'somehow' missing both breakfast and lunch as he laid there. He honestly wasn't very surprised that he'd 'missed' his meals, likely due in no small part to the way he pissed off C-Sec and the Broker. His stomach rumbled as he heard his door slide open.

Looking up, he put up a small false smile, "Is it lunchtime yet?" He asked, knowing full well he wasn't going to be getting any.

The asari officer in the doorway looked unamused, frowning, "Interrogation room." Was the only thing she said, before using her biotics to lock Jordan in stasis, freezing him in place. Stuck in the biotic field with no way out, the officer then approached Jordan, roughly reattaching the omni-cuffs to his wrists, before pulling Jordan to his feet as the stasis was ended.

"Ahh, shit, I was complying…" Jordan complained.

"What are you going to do, electrocute me?" She asked with an eye roll, before shoving him towards the door, "Not a step out of place or I'll add attempted escape to your charges." She threatened, gripping the cuffs firmly with one hand and shoving Jordan forward and out the door with the other.

Pushed forward and pulled back repeatedly as they progress down the hall, Jordan could almost feel the bruises forming on his wrists. Luckily, it wasn't long until they reached the interrogation room.

Upon entry, the officer used more of her biotics to move Jordan, since she deemed he was going too slow for her tasters, into the chair on the other side of the table. The moment he was down, she readjusted the cuffs to hold his hands in front of him, attached to the table. As soon as she finished, she sneered and Jordan, shaking her head as she left him alone in the room.

Jordan leaned back as best as he could and stared up at the ceiling, sighing, "This is fine…"

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec Interrogation Room #2.**

**February 21st, 2183. 2:49 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Sitting alone in the room with nothing to keep him company, other than the camera and one-way glass, for over thirty minutes, got old really fast. Boring as hell, that's for sure.

Luckily for Jordan, extranet access or not, part of his omni-tool was still functioning despite the interference, allowing him to access his music library and listen to a few songs silently in his head, just as he'd done on the Normandy. Normally, omni-tools are forced offline when in detention cells or other locations, but either because it was of Geth design or because Jordan's makeup was nearly 50% synthetic, his omni-tool could still function, but was unable to be visible or produce the actual, physical interface.

Either way, it made spending and wasting time that much easier for him as he waited for whatever reason he was actually being kept in an interrogation room. There was no way Shepard was back already, so that wasn't an option. Maybe this was the Alliance or the Council, trying to gather information about who he was or what he's done? He'll soon find out.

Bobbing his head and slowly swaying back and forth, Jordan kept his eyes closed as he absentmindedly allowed his body to move to the music. He even caught himself mouthing out and even singing aloud a few times. Imagine the officers on the other side of the glass. They must be thinking that he was actually insane.

Jordan's eyes were closed as he sang aloud, not even noticing that the door had opened and someone had finally arrived.

"Come on baby… don't fear the reaper. Baby take my hand… don't fear the reaper. We'll be able to fly… don't fear the reaper. Baby, I'm your man…"

"Ahem." A female voice said, clearing their throat to get Jordan's attention.

"La la l- ah!" Jordan said, jolted from the song as he silently turned it off, shaking his head. He opened his eyes and looked forward towards the woman in the room. Err, rather, the women, one behind the other.

The one in front was someone he didn't recognize. She stood confidently, her blonde hair nearly reaching her shoulders, framing her soft face, and her pure, bright blue eyes were locked onto Jordan's green ones. She wore a tight, System's Alliance uniform with a dress skirt and a pair of heels to match. Her skin was fair, unblemished and tanned. Overall, she was pretty attractive.

Stepping out from behind her was the second woman, allowing Jordan to get a better look at woman number two. She, too, wore a professional System's Alliance uniform. Unlike her partner, the skirt was replaced with pants, but she too wore heels. Examining her face, Jordan felt the blood drain from his own. The woman's pale, perfect white skin was framed by her black hair, reaching partially down her back. Her own blue eyes were focused on Jordan as well.

Jordan slowly, and melodramatically, lowered his face to the table and left it there, groaning aloud for everyone to hear. He prayed that his thoughts were incorrect, that he'd been mistaken.

"Mister Sower, really, there's no reason to be groaning." The unmistakable Australian accented voice said, mildly annoyed. Miranda Lawson… Cerberus… Shit!

Slowly picking his head back up, Jordan looked over both Cerberus agents before him. He obviously recognized Miranda but had no idea who the first woman was. Speaking of her, she spoke now.

"Hello Mister Sower, my name is Cynthia Wake, Alliance Intelligence, and this is my partner, Miranda Lawson." She introduced, "We're here on behalf of the System's Alliance." So, sounds like they're using their real names. Maybe it was time to shake them up a bit? Probably not a good idea, but meh, might as well have some fun after the day he's had. "I could tell…" he said, motioning towards their uniforms with his cuffed hands.

Jordan knew he needed to try to play along a little bit, but the combination of lack-of-food and overall stressful state of mind wasn't helping him out much. He raised an eyebrow at them, in pretend shock as he said more, "Wait a moment! Lawson?" He asked, looking at Miranda, "Are you related, perhaps, to the great genius Henry Lawson?" He asked.

He clearly could see Miranda's eyes twitch slightly as she almost began to tremble. Ok... not exactly the response he was expecting...

Cynthia smiled, almost ignoring her partner, taking a seat in the other provided chair across from him. "We're here because we believe you have important information regarding the Geth and their recent string of attacks and acts of hostility against the Alliance." She informed him.

Miranda took a few steps towards the table, recovering quickly from earlier. Her heels clicked against the floor before leaning against the table, smiling lightly as well, "Just be honest with us, and we might be able to cut a deal with you. You know, lower your sentence…"

Jordan's heart began to beat faster, but he fought desperately to keep his stress under control. Cerberus was already tipped off about him. If he suddenly started glowing green, they'd take him in for experimentation in a heartbeat. He took several deep breaths as he calmed himself down, which the operatives obviously noticed.

"What's wrong, Jordan? We haven't even started yet. Is it alright if I call you Jordan?" Cynthia asked kindly, her eyes searching for something within Jordan's.

He forced himself to nod, "Th-that's fine, sure."

Her smile grew, but something in her gaze gave Jordan the impression that he was simply being humored, with a predatory aspect within her eyes. "Good. Jordan, we only have a few questions. Miranda, if you would."

Miranda Lawson nodded, activating her omni-tool as it brought up a screen full of data, "Alliance spy drones intercepted a message within Geth space over a month ago. It was played across all frequencies during the broadcast..." She started, causing all color to drain from Jordan's face. He prayed he wasn't about to hear what he was about to hear.

She pressed a button on her omni-tool.

_"This is Jordan Sower… I… I know about the heretics… about the old machine, Nazara. I'm here to negotiate with the geth consensus. I have no weapons on board, my weapon systems on board my shuttle are offline, and I am alone. I want peace between Synthetics and Organics. I want to end the hostilities caused by the Morning War. I'm here to help… I know there's no reason to believe me; no reason to trust what I say. But… please, give me a chance… Keelah se'lai…"_

Jordan felt sick in his stomach, only made worse by the lack of food.

Cynthia smiled, nodding towards Miss Lawson, "Thank you, Miranda." She returned her gaze to Jordan, her smile growing as she picked up on his distress, "Now, I don't know about you, but this sounds an awful lot like your voice, especially with that introduction… Jordan Sower."

This wasn't good. Not good at FUCKING all. There was no way they knew what happened on Rannoch with the Collective, but they definitely knew that he sought the Geth out. This, alone, incriminated him. What was he supposed to do? What does he say? How the hell does he respond to that?!

Cynthia broke the moment of silence. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you went to the Geth of your own free will, actually seeking them out. The thing is, that can't be right, because the Geth would have destroyed you on sight, like every other organic they've come across." He pondered aloud, "And then you show up on Solcrum in the Armstrong Nebula a couple of days ago, working with the Geth, alive and well. Something doesn't quite add up." She informed him.

Miranda continued from there, "We're not saying that you betrayed humanity, Mister Sower." She tried to reassure him, "What we are saying, however, is that we'd like to know how you lived and actually gained control of the Geth."

It clicked. Cerberus thinks I have control over and lead the Geth like Saren does. Images of Project Overlord flooded his head as a shiver went down Jordan's spine. 'Oh god, they're starting Project Overlord early, and they want to use me to do it…' He internally realized. He needed to change the course of this conversation. He couldn't just tell them the truth about everything; they wouldn't believe him. What does he do?!

"I... I don't know what you mean." He tried to uselessly deny.

Cynthia chuckled, "Come now, Jordan. Have you already forgotten the message you sent back in January?"

"N-no, I just."

Miranda spoke up now, "What did you do to the Geth to gain control of them? Other than the odd message, there wasn't anything attached to it that could clarify what transpired."

Still focusing on Project Overlord, Jordan said the first thing that came to mind, hoping maybe nonsense could help or something, whispering, "Square root of 912.04 is 30.2."

Miranda looked slightly confused at what he had just said, but Cynthia looked outraged, her friendly, calm demeanor rapidly evaporating. Miranda spoke up again, however, "What does that mean?"

Not willing to go back, he whispered again, this time maintaining eye contact with Cynthia as he said the following line, noticing her original reaction, "It all seemed harmless…"

Cynthia slammed her hands onto the table, anger clear in her eyes, "Enough!" She demanded, openly hostile now. Even Miranda seemed shocked by the behavior, no longer leaning on the table. She appraised her 'partner' with a look that almost appeared to be... no... Was that fear in Miranda's eyes? What the hell?

He turned towards Miranda, continuing his current plan, which started with improvising and continued to consist of improvising, "Cancel Project Overlord. It's not worth it." He said, his tone almost pleading with the last statement.

"I… I beg your pardon?" Miranda asked, even more confused. God, she wasn't even trying to use her profession 'Ice Queen' persona! What's wrong with Miranda?

"P-please, Miranda. You have to listen to-"

Cynthia turned around and glared at her fiercely, "Ignore him, Miri." Immediately, Miranda reacted, looking down in genuine shame and sealing her lips and nodding, obeying without question.

Jordan's eyes shot open in shock now. Miranda Lawson, the Ice Queen and 'cold-hearted bitch' who couldn't be swayed by anyone less than Commander Shepard… and she just shut down at a glare from Cynthia? What the actual fuck?! "What the hell...?" He breathed out.

Cynthia turned back to Jordan, nodding towards the door, "Miss Lawson, please wait outside until I call for you." Wordlessly, she nodded, leaving the room. Miranda had a gleam of sadness in her eyes, almost like someone had kicked her puppy or something.

As soon as she left, Jordan stared at Cynthia in shock, his mouth agape. "What the hell have you done to her?" He asked.

Amusement danced in Cynthia's eyes for a single moment as she chuckled, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Jordan." She responded easily. "Now, back to business…" She started, staring directly into Jordan's eyes, "How about we just stop dancing around the issue and pretending we don't know what really going on, ok? Is that fine with you, sweety?" She asked mockingly.

Jordan's gaze hardened as he glared back, "Sure. After you, Cerberus bitch." He spat at her, which caused her smile to grow.

"Ahh, you are a smart cookie." She said condescendingly, "So let's cut to the chase, shall we? You need to stop this, alright?" She said simply.

"Stop what?" He asked incredulously, "I'm sitting here in a C-Sec Prison on the Citadel, with an empty stomach and nothing to do but lay around."

She slammed her hands back onto the table, standing up, "Stop changing everything!" She demanded, her eyes attempted to burn Jordan alive.

"Wh- I… I, what?!" Jordan asked, shocked.

She pointed a glowing blue hand at him, ezzo dancing across her fingertip, "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You, the Geth, everything!" She screamed at him, "I heard you screaming at Shepard about Virmire! I know you know about the Heretics and Reapers!" She listed off, "You WILL stop!"

"What are yo-" He began before he was lifted off his feet, his omni-cuffs disconnecting from the table as Cynthia held him tightly and uncomfortably in the air with her biotics.

"Enough of the bullshit, Sower!" She demanded, "We both know what's really going on here! You're changing everything, ruining the way things are supposed to be! You've ruined so much! The Leviathans, the Batarian assassination, Rasa's death, the attacks on Cerberus bases, you've been ruining everything!"

"I don't know what you're talking abou-" he was interrupted once more by a squeeze, the biotic field around him constricting him, causing pain to ripple across his entire body.

She pointed at him once more, pressing her index finger into his chest, "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to convince the Illusive Man to maintain his Cells and Projects in the same exact fashion he was supposed to? He's become afraid and cautious, wanting to pull out some of the Cells before Shepard could shut them down. Hell, Kahoku almost lived for fuck's sake!"

"That's not my fault." Jordan finally said, "I'm just trying to save lives…"

She shook her head, "I don't care what you're reasoning is." She slammed him back down painfully, back down into his seat as the omni-cuffs reattached to the table magnetically. "Let me make something clear to you, Mister Sower. If it were up to me, I'd kill you right here and now!"

"B-but I've been on Rannoch." Jordan tried, this time speaking the truth, "I couldn't do half the stuff you think I did."

She shook her head, "Lies!" She hissed, "And speaking of Rannoch, we've gotten countless reports of Geth activity recently..." She said, before slamming her glowing, blue fist back onto the table, leaving a small dent in its wake, "True Geth, Jordan!" She yelled, "They aren't supposed to be doing anything until Shepard dies!"

"So what? You here to kill me?" Jordan finally asked, fear in his eyes. "I'm just trying to help..."

"Oooohhh, you're just trying to help. Silly me, dear. I'm sooooooooo sorry." She patronized him, "Let me be abundantly clear, Jordan Sower..." She began, walking around to stand behind him.

"The Illusive Man wants answers from you, so killing you outright would ruin that, not to mention piss off the Geth." She informed him, "So, I can't just kill you without making things worse." She then bent over slightly, her mouth close to his ear as she whispered into his ear.

"However, I want you to pray, Jordan. Pray that you die in the Battle of the Citadel. Because if you survive, I promise, you'll live out the rest of your meaningless life in a holding cell on Cronos station as the first test subject of our Indoctrination projects." She threatened, stepping back and approaching the door to leave.

As she began to leave, she looked over her shoulder to add something, "And on the off chance you can contact the Collective, try to convince them to stop changing things too. Maybe we'll even go easy on you if you do me this _one_ little favor..." She added, smiling as she continued to the door.

Pausing by the exit before leaving, using her omni-tool for a moment, reactivating the cameras and other equipment in the room. She gently opened the door.

Turning back to look at Jordan when she was halfway out the door, she smiled fiendishly as him, "Remember what I said, Avatar. I'll be watching." And with that final word, she left Jordan alone in the room, closing the door behind her. Now alone in the room, Jordan began going back over the events of the past several minutes.

She knows who I am… She… She knows about the games… Who is she?

He groaned, leaning his head back and stared back up at the ceiling once more, whispering to himself, "What the fuck is going on?"

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec HQ  
**

**February 21st, 2183. 3:14 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Cynthia Wake exited the room, turning to her right as she looked for her partner.

Her partner, Miranda Lawson, leaned against the wall across from her, a frown on her lips as she stared at the ground, disappointment clear in her eyes. Cynthia sighed as she approached, lightly bringing a hand up to Miranda's chin as she slowly made her look into her own eyes. "Miri... no hard feelings, right?" She asked quietly.

Miranda hesitated, before nodding, "I... I understand." She admitted, "I was unprofessional back there."

Cynthia smiled back to her, "It's fine, Miri. We all have our moments, even someone as perfect as you..." She added sweetly, before releasing Miranda's face from her grasp. She turned abruptly and began walking down the hall to exit the C-Sec compound, Miranda immediately falling in line without question, "I want surveillance on Jordan nonstop." She instructed.

"Ma'am?"

Ignoring the inquiry, she continued, "I don't want a Shadow Broker agent within a hundred feet of Jordan Sower. Get the squads and agents informed, Miss Lawson. Not a hundred feet." She demanded.

"O-oh course, Miss Wake. I-It's just..."

They stopped at the end of the hall, Cynthia turning towards Miranda with fury in her eyes at the last part, "It's just what?" She asked impatiently.

"Why are we going through all of this trouble if we're just leaving him here? What's so important about Mr. Sower?" She asked, shivering unconsciously, which Cynthia noticed. Using a small amount of her biotics, Cynthia stopped the unneeded movement, slowly soothing Miranda. Operative Wake smiled gently at Miranda as dark, midnight-blue tendrils of energy danced on her fingertips. With this energy, she took Miranda's chin into her hand once more. forcing eye contact with one another. If one looked closely enough, you might see faint blue and black cracks appear momentarily across Cynthia's otherwise flawless skin. Her pure, deep blue eyes seemed to almost glow for a moment as well, as Miranda's posture straightened. The energy had the desired effect, calming and soothing the other Operative.

Cynthia nodded, "There, there Miranda, just relax..." She whispered, "Don't worry about Jordan. Just focus on my orders..."

"I... alright..." She soon gave in. Miranda shook her head and the familiar 'ice queen' mask of professionalism reappeared on her face, "I'll alert all undercover operatives to the change in mission parameters."

The other woman nodded, "Excellent. Now, come, Miranda. We have much to prepare for..."

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec Holding Cell.**

**March 1st, 2183. 6:48 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

He'd spent about a week locked up, only periodically receiving news about the outside world.

After that nightmare of an interrogation at the hands of Cerberus, Jordan had a lot on his mind. Cynthia knew! She knew he was changing things, and even mentioned she'd been trying to maintain how the 'original games' went. At least, in regard to Cerberus. She blamed, and rightfully so, the death of Maya Brooks on him, which was accurate… but the other things she'd said…

Someone else must have influenced the Leviathan investigation. Someone else was attacking Cerberus bases aside from Shepard. Someone else assassinated the Batarian Politician-turned terrorist. There's no possible way any of his actions could have caused some of these events, even with the damned butterfly effect. If it wasn't him, and it wasn't her, then who?

And another thing! With her knowledge, she must have come from his world as well, with experience from the games to help guide her. This wasn't making much sense. Why were there others? How many of them were there? What's going on?

Regardless, Cynthia didn't seem like she'd be an ally, especially since Jordan WAS still intent on changing things.

After the first day in prison, the guards had finally begun to let him out for meals in the mess hall. Were they some of the worst meals he'd ever had? Absolutely! But not having any food the day prior, he couldn't help but wolf it down and ask for seconds. Beyond that, everything else here had been fairly normal, falling into a regular routine. A few times, he'd been 'roughed up' by some officers, and he even thought he overheard an attempt to bust him out occurred, but other than that, it was a stereotypical stay at Casa de Prison.

Considering the fact that he wasn't dead or in Shadow Broker custody by this point, he assumed there was someone or something watching over him carefully, making sure he wasn't taken. Was it Shepard making sure he'd be there when he returned? Was it Cerberus, watching him carefully at the behest of Cynthia? Was it, maybe, the Geth, trying to look out for him? Maybe... he wasn't sure.

A day ago, he heard that the Normandy had arrived and went on lockdown, only to be freed by a rogue Spectre as he escaped the Citadel. That means Illos was coming… and so was the Battle of the Citadel. Still, though, he didn't know how Virmire went yet... God, he hoped he'd managed to save both Kaiden and Ashley. Damn, it'd be awkward if he failed to save both and he confronted Jordan about his warning later on... and it'd be all his fault, too, for not warning him earlier... 'God, having all this knowledge kinda sucks somethings, making you feel guilty about things you knew about...', he thought.

Laying there in his cot, Jordan stared up at the ceiling, wearing an orange jumpsuit as he tried to plan what would come next. He needed to tell the Geth about Cynthia Wake. She was living, breathing proof that there were more people out there that knew what was coming. Possible allies or possible enemies…

His thoughts were interrupted when his entire cell shook like there was an earthquake. Alarms began to blare across the prison as emergency lights turned on.

The Battle of the Citadel was beginning.

Seems like everything's begun to go to Hades in a handbasket now…


	12. Chapter 10: The Battle of the Citadel

** Chapter 10: The Battle of the Citadel  
**

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium.**

**March 1st, 2183. 8:09 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

_"This is an automated message to all civilians. Travel is prohibited as the Citadel is under martial law. All Civilians are to return to their homes or head immediately to emergency shelters. This is NOT a drill."_ Avina helpfully repeated, over and over and over again.

Grimlock focused on the nearby Avina terminal, walking towards it. "Status of C-Sec Headquarters." It requested, unable to tap into C-Sec communications, considering most of it was down now that the Citadel's arms were closed.

The sound of gunfire was picked up by Grimlock's audio receptors, as its accompanying squad of two Geth Destroyers, two Geth Primes, and a single Geth Hunter opened fire on a nearby squad of Heretic platforms, preventing the slaughter of a nearby safe house full of organic civilians.

_"Alert. Unauthorized Artificial Intelligence detected. Activating defense protocols and informing the authorities."_

If Grimlock was physically capable of laughing, it'd be doing so. The 'Authorities' were currently fighting for their lives, and could not be bothered with the thousandth report of 'Unauthorized AI' on the Citadel right now. Easily cracking through the firewalls of the Avina terminal, Grimlock forced it to answer just as it saw the data itself.

_"Contact with Citadel Security Headquarters has been lost for ten galactic-standard minutes. Based upon the most recent security update, the building has received light damage and moderate attention by enemy forces."_

Grimlock's programs absorbed this information in nanoseconds, immediately reaching a consensus. "We must find Sower-Ambassador." It informed its squad, receiving a round of 'Affirmatives' from its squad, perfectly in sync.

Speeding ahead at top speed, the squad of six Geth raced toward C-Sec Headquarters, tearing down entire squads of Heretic Troopers and husks with ease since most of the Heretics were focused on the Citadel Tower. Making their way to an inactive elevator, Grimlock forced the doors open as the six of them activated magnetic strips in their feet, allowing them to easily and safely descend into C-Sec HQ.

Entering quickly, they find several officers, who had yet to notice their entry as they were out of sight within the elevator shaft. Grimlock silently relayed orders.

_"Unit H-101, gain hardware access to Citadel Security Servers in order to locate Sower-Ambassador using tactical cloak."_

_"Affirmative, platform designated Grimlock."_ It responded almost instantly.

Doing as it was told, the Hunter activated its active camouflage, leaving the group temporarily. A few seconds passed by as they patiently waited until Unit H-101 responded. _"Sower-Ambassador located. Alert. C-Sec officer required for access."_

_"Understood. Prepare for secondary plan 105. Do not open fire on organics unless provoked. Follow our lead."_

_"Affirmative. Awaiting lead."_ The other five units sounded off to Grimlock.

Ready to enact plan 105, Grimlock and the rest of them exited the elevator quickly, raising their weapons at the group of nine C-Sec officers. Caught off guard, the nine officers were quickly surrounded before they could fire upon the Geth which, shockingly enough, hadn't fired upon them. Focusing on who appeared to be the leader, Grimlock aimed his weapon at the human office in the center of the group.

Searching its databanks, Grimlock identified the individual.

Grimlock spoke aloud, earning the officers' attention, "Hold fire, or we will not hesitate to terminate." It informed them honestly.

Other than the leader, two other officers in the group were humans, all three of them stared at Grimlock in a combination of shock and utter confusion as they took in its appearance. The others simply stood in shock simply because they'd never seen a talking Geth. Grimlock recalled Jordan's previous comment about putting the name and symbols on this platform, mentioning that it would, quote "and imagine the look on people's faces if they saw a geth Autobot…" Now Grimlock understood exactly what he meant.

The leader, identified as Citadel Security Officer Armando-Owen Bailey, spoke up, taking his hands away from the pistol on his hip and putting them into the air, "Alright everyone, play it cool…" Reluctantly, the Asari officers powered down their biotics and the rest took their hands away from their weapons as well. "I'm sure if they wanted us dead they would have already fired on us... right... Grimlock?" He asked hesitantly, unsure if that was the platform's name or if it was simply graffiti.

Grimlock nodded, much as organics often do to one another, "Affirmative, Bailey-Officer." It responded, just as the Hunter reappeared, freaking out the officers even more so. "We require the release of Sower-Ambassador." It informed them.

One of the Asari rolled her eyes, cursing under her breath, "Dammit, knew that son of a bitch was working with the Geth."

Grimlock turned its head towards the Asari, causing the two closest officers to inch slightly away from her, "Sower-Ambassador is a friend." It informed them, shocking the officers even more so, "He is needed for what is to come." Grimlock turned back to Bailey, "Bailey-Officer, we require the release of Sower-Ambassador at the nearest possible time."

Bailey nodded slowly, "Alright, I think that can be arranged. We all go free, though, right?" He asked, silently motioning towards his peers to prepare to counterattack if the Geth try anything. Grimlock noticed this but ignored it. They weren't going to go back on their word.

"Affirmative. I will accompany you to Sower-Ambassador's location to ensure the exchange."

"Bailey, I don't think this is a good idea. We can't trust them." A turian officer mentioned, who Grimlock recognized, thanks to Jordan's memories, as one of the corrupt officers that worked for the Broker.

Grimlock motioned toward the Turian, "You work for the Shadow Broker, Turian. _We_ should not trust you."

The officer's mandibles fell open in shock as if he'd been slapped in the face. Bailey and a few other officers turned and stared openly at their colleague, shocked even more so by the fact that he wasn't denying it. Some of them have had their suspicions, and others already knew... but still, being called out by a Geth tends to shock most people.

"Bailey-Officer, time is of the essence." Grimlock insisted, idling moving its pulse rifle.

Bailey nodded, "Alright. Follow me. Lang, no trouble for our guests."

The officer identified as Eddie Lang swallowed and nodded, "Y-yes sir."

Together, Bailey and Grimlock went towards another, luckily working, elevator, leaving the other eight officers and five Geth in the main room. Entering the elevator, Bailey set it to descend, going just as slowly as every other elevator in the Galaxy.

Arching an eyebrow, Bailey took a moment to look over the Geth unit beside him, "Huh, a talking Geth named Grimlock? How'd that happen?" He asked, honestly curious.

"Sower-Ambassador gave this platform its name and… unique identifiers." Grimlock informed him, "He believed this platform needed a name, to make it more organic-like. He believed the name was adequate and fitting."

"Uh huh, and do you like the name, or do you even have preferences?"

Grimlock paused for a moment, having an odd lack of consensus on that question, "No data available." It responded.

Before Bailey could comment, the doors opened, opening up to one of the wings of the prison. Leading Grimlock, Bailey took it directly to Jordan's cell, opening the door to find Jordan walking around and pacing worriedly.

The first thing he noticed was Bailey, as Grimlock was still a few steps behind.

"Bailey?" Jordan asked, genuinely confused, "What are you doing here?"

"Your buddies are here to bust you out, apparently." He said with a frown, taking a step to the side revealing Grimlock.

To Bailey's complete surprise, Jordan's face lit up as he dashed forward, giving Grimlock an awkward half-hug thanks to the size difference.

"Grimlock!" He cried excitedly, letting it go and taking a step back, "What are you doing here, buddy?"

Grimlock reached behind its back, grabbing hold of an item and bringing it forward, giving Jordan another set of black light-human armor to replace the one confiscated by Shepard. "Sower-Ambassador, the Heretic's attack has begun. It is time to leave. Your capture was… unexpected. Your return is recommended."

Jordan grabbed the suit of armor and immediately began putting it on, smiling brighter at Grimlock, "Aww, were you worried about me, Grimlock?"

"No data available."

"Yeah, yeah, I know you were."

Before long, Jordan was suited up and ready to go, before he noticed something, "Hey Grimlock, I don't exactly have a weapon."

Knowing this was necessary, Grimlock gently extended its arms towards Jordan, giving him its Pulse Rifle. Jordan took it, smiling. "Thanks, bud, but what about you?" At that, Grimlock reached around its back once more and pulled out a very-familiar looking weapon, which was still currently in the prototype phase. Jordan rolled his eyes, "Lucky bastard, save the real toys for yourself?"

"Geth Spitfire is not safe for organic use, Sower-Ambassador."

"Yeah, I suppose it wouldn't be quite yet… alright, I'm ready! Let's go!"

"One moment, Sower-Ambassador." Before Jordan could ask, Grimlock activated its own omni-tool, connecting with Jordan's immediately. Jordan watched his glow for a moment as it received some sort of upgrade or update.

"Ok... thanks Grimlock, I guess. What was that?"

"Software update."

Jordan shrugged, "Cool. Alright, now let's go!"

Leading the way Grimlock turned around and walked back towards the elevator, with Jordan following just behind the Geth, holding his new weapon tightly. Bailey followed behind the ex-prisoner and the talking Geth, shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation. "Should've stayed on Earth…" He whispered to himself as he followed them back to the elevator, "None of this makes any goddamn sense…"

The elevator only took a few extra moments to climb back up to the main floor, quickly allowing the group of three to return to the rest of the officers and Geth. To say Officer Lang and the others were surprised that the Geth had kept their word would have been a massive understatement.

They all stood there with their mouths ajar as Grimlock returned with not only their de-facto leader Bailey in one piece, but their prisoner Jordan Sower as well, holding one of the Geth weapons and wearing a suit of light armor. Allowing Bailey to pass them by, Grimlock and Jordan stepped over towards the other Geth present, allowing Bailey to get back to his people.

Bailey watched Jordan carefully, "So, you broke your buddy out of jail, what about us?" he asked, causing the other officers to flinch or inch their hands closer to their weapons.

Jordan smiled, "No hard feelings, guys." He tried to assure them, "We'll just be going on our way, right Grimlock?"

"Affirmative. The arrangement has been kept." It confirmed, "As long as there are no hostilities, we will leave you in peace." Its head turned to Jordan, "Sower-Ambassador, are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah, let's go." Jordan nodded, turning to walk away, towards the exit elevator and following one of the Geth Primes. Before he could get far, Bailey called out.

"Hey." Jordan stopped and turned around, "How'd you do it, getting the Geth to listen to you?"

Jordan smiled back, "Just had to ask... They're not as bad as you think, Bailey."

Leaving the officers confused and surprised they were still breathing, Jordan entered the shaft, followed by the rest of the Geth and being led by Grimlock. Activating his mag-boots, Jordan began a slow and inexperienced climb up the elevator shaft.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium.**

**March 1st, 2183. 8:46 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan hunched over slightly, leaning against a wall as he caught his breath and gave himself a moment of rest.

Taking another moment (or three) to catch his breath, Jordan stood up straight and turned to his group of six Geth, who had been patiently waiting for him considering he was their primary objective. Still trying to regain his stamina after that exhausting and terrifying sheer climb up an elevator shaft, Jordan decided an 'exchange of data' was necessary.

"So… what have I missed?" Jordan asked Grimlock.

"Geth production of second Dreadnaught has reached 7.3% completion." It started, "Ground-based Mass Accelerator Cannons have begun construction on the southern continent. This platform has been updated to house 867 programs." It listed off.

"How about here? How'd you get here?"

"After successful test run of ship-designated Nedas, the Collective upgraded its shielding and weaponry. Using the improved Nedas as a temporary flagship, a fleet of ten ships accompanied it to Serpent Nebula, aiding the Citadel Council fleets in the battle against the Heretics and Old Machine. Using the Nedas, our squad was assembled to extract Sower-Ambassador during the attack, in order to preserve your functionality."

"I appreciate it, buddy, but we can't leave just yet."

Grimlock seemed confused, "Specify? Have mission parameters changed?"

Jordan nodded, "Yeah. When I was imprisoned, I encountered Miranda Lawson."

"Cerberus involvement?" It asked, to which Jordan nodded.

"But it was weird... like she wasn't herself." Grimlock remained silent, allowing Jordan to continue, "She was accompanied by another woman in Cerberus, Cynthia Wake was her name. She… She knew I was the Avatar, and she knew about my knowledge. I think… I think she's from my universe as well. Maybe even an Avatar or something... like me!"

"Another individual came from your world." It summarized, "What did Wake-Operative say?"

"She warned me that I was changing far too much, that I shouldn't be changing things… and that she'd been working to maintain the original timeline as much as possible. I was blamed for the Leviathans being discovered early and for killing a Batarian."

"You could not have. You had arrived after those two events occurred."

"Yes, I know, which leads me to believe there may even be a third person out there. But it gets worse. She, I don't know, seemed to have some sort of control over Miranda. You remember the memories I showed you of Miranda? Of who she is?"

"Affirmative."

"She was docile, Grimlock. A glare from Cynthia was all it took to shut her up, and she complied when ordered out of the room without hesitation. I don't… there's something really wrong here…"

"Understood. What does this have to do with current mission parameters?"

"She might still be on the station, trying to undo anything we've been doing. I'm afraid that she might do something rash…"

"Unlikely."

"Yes, I know!" Jordan said, shouting in anger, "You don't think I know that? She threatened me, Grimlock. She promised torture and death in my future for what I've done already. She's already pushing Project Overlord through, and if that project actually succeeds this time around…" He stopped and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Grimlock." Came his apology, "It's just that… I'm afraid."

"You think your knowledge is becoming obsolete."

Jordan sadly nodded, "Yeah. She's determined to work against me and seems to be pushing Cerberus' agenda. What if she accelerates the Illusive Man's indoctrination? We never learn where or when it happened, but if it happens too early…" Jordan swallowed, "Everything could get much worse…"

"What do you plan to do?" Grimlock asked after pondering what Jordan said for a moment, now willing to hear the secondary plan.

"We can escape later. Right now, we should at least try to minimize casualties on the Presidium. I feel so useless right now…"

Grimlock straightened its posture, trying to reach a consensus within itself. Many programs wished to ignore Jordan's worries and get him back to Rannoch immediately. A few lives lost here would be incomparable to the lives that could be saved later. However, the majority of programs, now that its platform housed so many, rebelled against the Collective's primary objective for this mission. They wished to help Jordan, though logically it made more sense to not do so. Finally, after a few nanoseconds longer, a consensus was reached.

"We accept this new course of action." It said, sensing the surprise coming from the nearby programs in the other five platforms. They, however, didn't question their assigned leader.

Jordan's frown grew into a huge, hope-filled smile, "Really Grimlock?" He asked, shocked.

"We should head towards the embassies. Verify the Ambassadors' safety." It recommended.

Jordan nodded, now ready to move. "Let's go." He said, gripping his pulse rifle tightly.

Together, with Jordan and Grimlock taking point, they left the small alcove and approached a nearby staircase. Turning his head, Jordan looked out and across the lake, noticing the burning wreck of a Mako, overturned and burning brightly next to a damaged Avina terminal. Considering he hadn't heard the crash while he'd been resting, Jordan assumed that Shepard had arrived while Grimlock was rescuing him.

Going up the stairs and turning, Jordan noticed a squad of husks and Heretic troopers near the embassies lobby. Aiming down the sights, Jordan silently sent a command to the Geth accompanying him, _"Open fire on the Heretics in two seconds."_

One.

Two.

He, along with Grimlock and the other Geth, opened fire, tearing the Heretics apart quickly. As their 'leaders' were pulverized by ammunition, the husks turned to face the squad and rushed forward towards them. Hitting the leading husk in the head, Jordan dropped it quickly.

 _"Sower-Ambassador, Old Machine husks are approaching from behind,"_ Grimlock said.

Jordan searched his HUD and found the information on the Geth units accompanying him, _"Units P-409, P-410, and D-945, focus on rear-advancing husks. Unit H-101, flank the forward husks."_

The Geth immediately went to it, following his commands immediately. Both Primes and the first Destroyer turned 180 degrees and began firing on the horde of husks coming from behind. The other Destroyer and Grimlock focused forward on the other approaching horde with Jordan, which was slightly larger than the second group. The single Hunter vanished from sight, reappearing behind the front husks, cutting them down with ease from behind.

The 'firefight', or more like a slaughter, only lasted a few moments longer before the several dozen husks were all laying on the ground in pieces. Jordan smiled as he congratulated the five Geth around him and the Hunter on the other end of the pathway.

That's when the unthinkable happened.

Gunfire from within the Embassies cut down the Hunter quickly, ending its functionality within a few seconds.

Its programs transmitted to the Nedas, which was currently hiding within the arms of the Citadel and firing upon Nazara, distracting it slightly as it tried to seize control of a resisting Saren. Jordan, Grimlock, and the remaining other four Geth turned towards the Hunter's corpse before the gunman revealed itself.

Stepping out of the Embassy lobby, a squad of five husk-ified turians exited the lobby and opened fire upon Jordan and his squad, forcing them into nearby cover as they, themselves, entered cover near the destroyed Hunter.

"What the fuck?! Marauders don't exist yet!" Jordan cried out.

Jordan was interrupted by his confusion by a blinking device appeared nearby, having been thrown by the Marauders at his group. Recognizing the threat immediately, a Prime kicked the grenade away, just in time as it hit a nearby wall and exploded, taking out a portion of the wall as well as part of its leg for being too close to the blast.

In cover and pinned down momentarily by the Marauders, one of the Reaper soldiers began to advance forward in an attempt to flush them out. Prime 409 exited cover, opening fire upon the single, separated husk-ified Turian. The Maurader took a few hits, losing its shields as it rolled to the side, into nearby cover before it was destroyed.

Grimlock activated its omni-tool, utilizing its newest tech ability. Moments later, all of the squad's weapons glowed red and a flaming symbol appeared where the ammo type was displayed. Jordan recognized this as 'Squad Incendiary Ammo.'

Jordan smiled a plan appeared in his head, silently transmitting the plan to Geth. _"Prime unit 409, focus on keeping the advanced Marauder pinned. 410 and Grimlock, lower the other four's shields. Try to set at least one of them aflame. Destroyer 945 and 946, prepare Carnage shots with your shotguns. I'll distract them."_

The plan began as Jordan activated his Geth Shield boost, leaving cover to advance further up to the next bit of cover, which was a collapsed portion of the wall. The Marauders focused on him as he advanced. The separate Reaper unit peaked out of cover, just as Jordan fired an overload at it, shorting out its shields. Prime number 409 took advantage and dropped the Marauder in its place.

Jordan slid into cover as he heard the shields break of at least one of the Marauders. Jordan mentally yelled at the Destroyers, _"Now! Detonate them with Carnage!"_

He didn't look back to confirm that they heard him, but they must have because the next thing he heard was the detonation. The Marauder in question, once set aflame, exploded from the carnage mixing with the flames, tearing him apart immediately and taking his buddies with him.

Jordan felt his heart pounding as he took a few deep breaths, _"Status report?"_ he asked.

_"Prime 409 reporting no damage."_

_"Prime 410 reporting loss of functionality in one arm and complete loss of one leg."_

_"Destroyer 945 reporting minor aesthetic damage."_

_"Destroyer 946 reporting no damage, but loss of functionality of Pulse Shotgun. We require a new weapon."_

_"Grimlock reporting no damage."_

Jordan let out a shaky sigh of relief. Though completely unexpected, the firefight could have gone far worse. Prime 410 may have to initiate self-destruct to its platform, and they did lose their Hunter, but other than those two units, they'd done well against the Marauders.

Speaking of which… what the hell?

Jordan exited cover and approached the fallen group of four husk-ified Turians in the back, near the lobby. As he approached, he noticed several Dragon's teeth sitting in the lobby, raised and in a used state with what appeared to be Turians and Humans in C-Sec armor and uniforms either attached to the spike or laying nearby. He breathed out in horror, "My God… they were converting C-Sec…"

Grimlock examined everything carefully, especially the dead Marauders, likely cataloging the data for the Collective. After a moment, it spoke, "Sower-Ambassador, these officers are already dead. Destroying them now is a mercy."

Jordan nodded sadly, looking away, "Do it."

Grimlock nodded to the other Geth as he stepped forward to examine the fallen Marauders. The Destroyed that lacked a weapon picked up the one the Hunter held before it died, while the other two Primes and single Destroyer opened fire on the Dragon's Teeth, destroying the constructs and stopping the transformations of the deceased officers.

Approaching the Marauders, Jordan bent down slightly to take a better look at them. They looked similar to the ones from the games… well, not exactly considering this was real life and everything was in extreme HD here, but they… they didn't look quite right. Grimlock seemed to sense what Jordan was thinking and spoke (or perhaps Jordan's thoughts were 'aloud' for it to hear?).

"Sower-Ambassador, these Old Machine Constructs are in a prototype phase. Their shields were below expected parameters, and their tactics were flawed. Their appearances also suggest they were incomplete."

Jordan furrowed his brows, remembering what Shepard says on Horizon, "So they become more advanced by ME3? Just like how the husks advance over the course of the games?"

"That is a valid conclusion. We believe that may be the case."

Jordan shook his head, "This still doesn't make any sense. Why were they here? They don't even show up until the third installment. What changed?"

"Perhaps Cynthia-Operative influenced something. Or the other, third party."

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, there must be a third party involved somewhere considering the changes that neither I nor she are responsible for… You think something happened that influenced the Reapers?"

"Possible. Not enough data available to confirm this theory."

He sighed, "Alright, I guess that's the best we can do." he looked towards the stairs, "We should check out the offices here. It looks like they were hit hard."

"Affirmative. Where should we begin."

"Let's leave Udina for last. I hate that prick."

"Agreed."

Together, rounding back up the other four units, Jordan and Grimlock prepared to search for any surviving diplomates. "Alright, you four stay here in case more reinforcements show up. Grimlock and I will search for survivors. If we all show up, we'll be exposed, not to mention they may freak out, seeing a squad of Geth 'looking for survivors', alright?"

 _"Affirmative."_ They all responded silently, only replying audibly with a series of clicks and synthetic sounds.

"Good, let's go Grimlock."

Together, they went up the left staircase, searching the server room-like room, finding it empty of both living and dead people. Searching the lounge also resulting in finding no bodies nor people as well. The last place to check on this side was the Executor's office, which was locked tightly. Before Jordan could begin to search inside, where survivors likely were, he felt the whole station shift as some light began to return to the Presidium. To confirm what just happened, a message was received from a Prime unit.

_"Sower-Ambassador, the Citadel is opening and the assault on Nazara has begun."_

Jordan swore under his breath. They were running out of time. Once Sovereign fell, they'd be out of time. C-Sec would regain control of the station and their window of time to escape would soon vanish.

"Grimlock, can you hack the security cameras within the Executor's office?"

"Affirmative. One moment, please stand by." A moment later, Grimlock sent the footage to Jordan, allowing him to see what was within the room. Closing his eyes and focusing, he could see the interior of the office.

Jordan saw Executor Pallin and four additional turian officers within the room, accompanied by the Elcor ambassador, Volus ambassador, and a few other diplomats of the other species from several worlds. The balcony that normally overlooked the Presidium was now shuttered closed, preventing enemies from coming in from any location other than the door. However, there was no sign of Udina, making Jordan frown. "Great… Udina is probably held up in his office, being a pain in the ass once more. Let's go Grimlock."

Opening his eyes and leaving the locked room alone, the two of them went downstairs and preparing to climb the opposite staircase when the entire station shook. Looking up and out, Jordan saw the remains of Nazara fall from Citadel Tower, many pieces landing in one of the nearby wards. Time was running out.

"C'mon Grimlock! Double time!"

Racing up the stairs, Jordan and Grimlock quickly reached Udina's office, which was also locked shut. "Grimlock, cameras?"

"Negative."

"What?" Jordan asked, confused.

"The cameras are no longer functioning within Udina's office."

"Hack the door, then. We need to get inside!"

"Yes."

Grimlock spent a few seconds hacking the door, before it finally unlocked, allowing Jordan to barge into the room as fast as he could, noticing first of all that there wasn't anyone in the room, just as he also noticed the shutters were down here as well. It looked relatively normal, all other things considered.

Taking a few steps into the office, he looked to his left towards the additional area of the room with a terminal. Laying there, slumped over the desk was Udina. Dead.

Jordan stared at Udina's body in shock, freezing for a moment, before running over to examine the body. "No no no no no no no no no… what happened? He's not supposed to be dead!"

He threw his arms down in frustration, "You're… you're not supposed to be dead, Udina!" He yelled in anger as he ran over, finding a hole in Udina's head, the weapon used laying on the floor nearby. It was a Stiletto III. It was also clear he hadn't been dead long. "DAMMIT! You fucking traitor, you weren't supposed to die yet!"

"Who…" Jordan began, looking around for any possible clues, before turning to Grimlock, "Grimlock, I need to know what happened."

Grimlock nodded, examining and scanning the body as Jordan looked around the desk. He found a datapad, containing a recently-read report, detailing an assault by Captain Anderson. Hehe, guess Shepard got Anderson to come here... Continuing his search, he also located an offline VI system, which probably contained all the important information about other politicians. That's when he found something truly disturbing.

Sitting on the floor, under the desk, laid a perfectly spherical object, with swirling blacks, greens, and greys within it.

A Leviathan Artifact.

Grimlock spoke up after analyzing the body, "Sower-Ambassador: There is a circular burn around the entry wound, indicating the weapon was pressed against Udina-Ambassador's head. We believe this was suicide."

Jordan shook his head, "No, Grimlock, this was murder..." He said, picking up the object and placing it on the desk.

"Leviathan artifact. Possibility of Leviathan influence and enthrallment is high. Perhaps they forced him to kill himself."

"I think so too..."

Before they could discuss the possibilities any further, voices screamed out from below, "CITADEL SECURITY!" They yelled out, simultaneously as the Geth reported they were taking fire. "Shit, they're here. We need to get out of here Grimlock!"

Grimlock nodded, blasting the artifact to pieces, before aiming at and firing at the nearby shutters. A hole appeared, immediately, in the Shutters from the inside as Jordan observed the Nedas swooping in quickly for a pickup. Together, the two of them began running towards the balcony, before Jordan's body seized up. Falling to the ground, Jordan was incapacitated by yet another charge of electricity, as well as a freshly carved bullet wound in his leg.

He heard the sounds of dying Geth on the bottom floor and C-Sec footsteps climbing up the stairs towards them. They came out of nowhere... did the officers from the Executor's office come out too? What's going on?!

"Grimlock, go!" Jordan tried to yell, as Grimlock turned around.

Trying to maintain awareness as darkness crept into Jordan's vision, he watched as Grimlock turned around to get Jordan, before its shields flashed violently, signaling their end. Looking slightly over his shoulder, Jordan watched an entire squad of C-Sec officers and a few Spectres aim their weapons at both him and Grimlock. A familiar-looking Salarian Spectre sending electricity into Jordan via the wound in his leg.

The last thing he heard was the sounds of a small nearby explosion, rapid gunfire from behind Jordan, and a certain Geth shutting down...


	13. Current Events II

** Chapter 10.5: Current Events II **

* * *

** Battle of the Citadel. What Really Happened? **

The Citadel has been saved.

In what is being deemed 'The Battle of the Citadel', the advancing Geth Army, led by rogue Spectre Saren and his flagship Sovereign, were prevented from seizing control of the intergalactic hub. Thanks to the actions of countless heroes in both the Citadel fleets and the System's Alliance, their assault was ended. While many of us have lived through this terrifying invasion, many still wonder what exactly happened, and who the true heroes were. This is why we have spent the last two days compiling any and all reports from both key witness and important players in these events.

Two days ago, Saren, an Ex-Spectre, invaded Citadel Space with a Geth army at his disposal, including Sovereign, an advanced Geth Flagship capable of never-before-seen amounts of destruction. Using a device created by the Prothean's known as the Conduit, he was able to use a 'backdoor' of sorts to enter the Presidium with a portion of his army through the Relay Monument. This two-pronged attack was devastating, allowing the fleets to be preoccupied with the Geth ships rather than focusing on the ground, where Saren quickly took control of the Citadel and began closing its arms.

Luckily for us, the first human Spectre, Commander John Shepard of the Alliance Navy, followed Saren through the Conduit, following closely behind him. Reaching a control panel in the Citadel Tower, Commander Shepard claims to had somehow talked Saren down, before incinerating his body after death. From there, the Commander reopened the arms of the Citadel, allowing the fleets to move in and destroy the Geth Flagship.

This will be a day the entire galaxy will remember, and for more reasons than one. The Alliance Navy, at the cost of thousands of human lives, saved the Destiny Ascension and the Citadel Council, who was on board during the attack. Those courageous men and women died so that others could live.

Of course, there are also several, unaccounted for, rumors about the attack, which leave many of us wondering whether or not they could possibly be true. Many witnesses aboard various ships within the fleets claimed to have witnessed nearly a dozen Geth ships open firing on their comrades, saving countless more lives and leaving the fleets confused. We have asked Admiral Steven Hackett of the System's Alliance's Fifth Fleet about the rumors, but had refused to comment on them, stating that _"Such rumors could not be confirmed nor denied as of this time."_ However, there has been confirmation that Military officials of the Turian Hierarchy, Asari Republics, System's Alliance, and Citadel Council are have opened an ongoing joint investigation into these claims.

We will bring more information about these rumors as we obtain it. However, we did have the opportunity to sit down with Commander Shepard, who was recovering from his injuries sustained in the attack. He claimed…

* * *

** Ambassador Murdered! Assassination During Battle. **

Ambassador Donnell Udina, the diplomatic representative for Humanity's System's Alliance, was assassinated during the Battle of the Citadel when Citadel Security was unable to adequately respond due to the attack. Found that evening, merely minutes after his death, C-Sec officials, with the aid of several Council Spectres, successfully apprehended the suspect in the Assassination.

Jordan Sower. (See attached image on page 37).

A nobody with no record in any official system up until a few months ago. Back in early January, Jordan was arrested when he broke into C-Sec Headquarters, assaulted an officer, and attempted to steal evidence from the impound lot. Only a few hours after, he was released into the custody of his 'mother', before vanishing entirely from the station a week later, unbeknownst to officials at the time.

Over a month had gone by before he returned to the Citadel, in the custody of Spectre John Shepard, having captured the man when he was found actively engaging with and working alongside of the Geth, much like Saren had. From there, he was handed back over to C-Sec, charged with harboring AI, working illegally with Artifical intelligence, and several other intelligence-related charges. He remained in custody for another week, until the Battle of the Citadel.

According to C-Sec officials, Jordan Sower was released during the attack by a squad of Geth, who held the entire station hostage until Jordan was released into their custody. Somehow surviving the ordeal, the Officers eventually complied, led by Officer Bailey, who wanted to save as many of his colleagues lives as possible. Only a little over an hour later, Jordan was apprehended in Udina's office after C-Sec fought their way through the squad of Geth protecting him.

Details about his escape are sketchy at best, considering the apparent contradictions in Geth behavior. However, we had asked Officer Bailey about the hostage situation from his perspective.

 _"It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. This group of five Geth entered through the unworking elevator and surrounded us without firing a single shot, just as a sixth, cloaked Geth appeared. They demanded that we release our prisoner in exchange for our lives. The 'leading Geth' actually had some sort of custom paint job, too. I took control of the situation as best as I could, but in the end, we complied with their demands. After they actually let us go, we called in the attack on headquarters and a nearby squad of officers from various safehouses began following..."_ He explained. (For the full interview, please see page 52.)

The Geth squad, which broke Jordan out, were completely destroyed, and Jordan was captured alive but injured. His trial will be held in the upcoming days in a private function within the Council chambers.

The late Ambassador Udina was considered by most to be an idealist. One of humanity's best hopes for intergalactic relations. However, there were still many who hated the man. Many who believed he wasn't…

* * *

** Citadel News: Inert 'Leviathan Orbs' have been deemed 100% Safe **

Two weeks ago, today, Doctor Garret Bryson brought forward an update to Task Force Aurora's findings on these 'Leviathan Orbs'.

Originally revealing the "Quantum-level pulses" radiating from the artifacts, he finally revealed that these pulses are of a natural phenomenon with these objects and 'is of no concern' to both the public and his team. These "pulses", he explained, had no perceivable effect on neither technology nor the experimental group used to test their safety. (He assured us that the experimental group and control group consisted of non-sentient organisms)

_"After even prolonged exposure and testing, it has been noted that certain areas of the subject's brains began to exhibit slightly obscured brainwaves mixed in with the natural waves. These 'obscure brainwaves', however, do not seem to have any correlation to the orb's presence as the control group also exhibited this change. Seeing at the control group was shielded from the radiation, it was reasoned that the brainwaves may have had to do with separating the organisms from one another."_

After his findings were backed up by secondary, unassociated groups, the 'Orbs' were declared completely safe and inert, and whatever technology within them that the Leviathans left behind is considered no longer functional. Regardless of this 'setback', Doctor Bryson assures the public and the Council that they are now closer than ever to discovering the secrets of the Leviathans.

He did, however, promise to keep the majority of the artifacts under shielded conditions for the time being, at the behest of an unknown individual. However, the late Ambassador Udina, the one personally responsible for assembling Task Force Aurora, had volunteered to hold one of the 'Orbs' in his office to see if the 'inert technology' could be reactivated under different circumstances. This selfless ambassador, who was so wrongfully murdered by Jordan Sower, had done everything in his power to push the project forward, wishing to share new, undiscovered knowledge to be known throughout the Galaxy.

Thanks to the work of people like Ambassador Udina…

* * *

** Troop Conversion: The Newest Form of Warfare?  **

Military analysts have been pouring over data and intelligence gathered from the Battle of the Citadel and other, previous encounters with the Geth, trying to understand this new 'brand of warfare' they had brought to the table.

It all starts with the attack on Eden Prime, where new foot soldiers were discovered by Commander Shepard. Identified as 'Husks', these humanoid foot soldiers of the Geth rushed towards their targets, unleashing electrical pulses to take down shields before viciously ripping apart their enemies. However, that is not the worst aspect of this 'troops'. No, it's the fact that these 'Husks', every last one of them, were once humans.

What, exactly, is meant by that? Alliance intelligence confirmed that these 'Husks' were converted from dead humans by using a never-before-seen device now referred to as "Dragon's Teeth", large purple spikes that skewered victims and transformed them into husks within an hour. This terrifying new technology created new troops for the geth from the bodies of their enemies, who were exceedingly loyal to the Geth.

That was all they had, though. They seemed to only be changing humans, making officials think this technology was not only still in the prototype stage, but also relatively limited. That was, until the Battle of the Citadel.

Discovered outside of the Embassies on the Presidium, five mangled remains of Turian-like husks were discovered, along with the remains of several Turian and Human C-Sec officers lying beside what appeared to be the remains of Dragon's Teeth. Though not seen before that day, this event proved the technology was adapting, now allowing the conversion of Turians into foot soldiers of the Geth. This has now sparked an intergalactic investigation into this technology, with worries sparking that this technology may not even be restricted to these two species.

Analysts wonder: Is this the future of warfare? Transforming your enemies, forcing them to fight those who once considered them their friends or loved ones. It may be too early to tell, but the very fact that this knowledge even exists has sparked outrage galaxy-wide, proving that…

* * *

**Vigilante Strikes Again! A Brief History of the Citadel's 'Vigilante'.  
**

The Citadel Vigilante has been exceedingly active in the recent days, as more and more Geth platforms had been located across the Citadel. But, who exactly is this 'Vigilante'?

The earliest reports of his or her existence occurred back in 2182 when an attempted mugging of an Asari mother and daughter was prevented. The suspect, a Krogan, was found in an alley in Zakera Ward, writhing in pain as a sort of black biotic energy sapped the life out of him, leaving this normally hardy Krogan in critical condition when found by authorities. The victims of the attack, the pair of Asari, claimed that a human had saved their lives, but were unable to describe the appearance or gender of their 'savior'.

Similar reports continue from there across Zakera Ward over the course of the following year, where crimes in progress were prevented by the 'Vigilante', leaving several suspects dead or critically wounded. Based off of eye-witness reports, there have been claims that the man, or woman, has biotic-like abilities of some kind, with some even claiming that there is more than one 'Vigilante'. As a Salarian victim claimed, _"The Vigilante appeared out of nowhere. There must have been two or three of them, though, as they surrounded that turian. I thought I was going to die..."_

To no one's surprise, Citadel Security confirmed in their quarterly report that the crime rate on Zakera Ward has decreased by 38% since the 'Vigilante' began his or her 'campaign' against criminals. Executor Pallin, however, is not a fan of this 'hero', going as far as to say, _"This "Vigilante' is nothing more than a thug with seemingly good intentions. The law exists for a reason, and circumnavigating around it for your own purposes outside of the law is criminal. Despite their 'good deeds', this criminal will be found and punished."_

With over a year since their first appearance, no further clues about their identity have been confirmed as of this time. However, despite the claims of C-Sec officials, there have been reports of the Vigilante leaving tips about crimes and criminals, which have led to the arrests of several dozen criminals thanks to these tips. Executor Palin chose not to discuss this point.

That is the Vigilante's past, up until the Battle of the Citadel. During the Geth attack, there were reports of the 'Vigilante' across Zakera Ward. Survivors claim that the man (or woman) had destroyed countless Geth attackers and saved their lives when C-Sec was otherwise occupied. And, ever since the attack, plenty of Geth corpses have turned up, all as a result of the Vigilante 'cleaning house' and destroying any of the surviving synthetic invaders with extreme prejudice.

During the course of the Battle, however, witnesses have finally begun to piece together pieces of the human's identity. Several witnesses reported an odd cloud of biotic-like energy existed around the human's face, obscuring their appearance and twisting their voice, making their identity much harder to determine. However, given appearances of the body captured by the occasional camera, we have reasonably concluded the vigilante is likely a human male, standing at about six feet tall. The clothing worn by the vigilante changes with nearly every appearance as well, adding further difficulty to identification.

However, despite the difficulties and lack of popular opinion, Citadel Security officials assure us that their investigation into the vigilante is still ongoing, and they are beginning to narrow the suspect list. Protests against the investigation continue to grow, though, thanks to the man's actions during the Battle...

* * *

**ENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION:  
**

**Broker,**

**The Salarian Councilor, Valern, recently intercepted an encrypted message between members of the Quarian Migrant Fleet's Admiralty Board, of which I've also been granted access. I believe this message could have major ramifications if sold to the right individuals, especially given the 'relationship' between yourself and Mister Jordan Sower. I expect this is a worthy exchange for the information you gave to me most recently. I look forward to future exchanges.**

**-Tela Vasir**

_To: Admiralty Board, Migrant Fleet  
_

_From: Admiral Rael'Zorah_

_Admirals,_

_As per the decision to send probes and stealth scouts into Geth Territory, I have put together a formal report of the findings of this study. As you are all aware, Geth attacks and presence beyond the Perseus Veil have increased by nearly 450% in the last four galactic-standard months. What you may not be aware of is the increase in production of their Military might, even after their ambitious attempt at conquering the Citadel._

_If you take a look at the attached images, you will see Geth fleet movement around their relays, with a newfound focus on the planet of Haestrom for unknown reasons. This may not seem out of place at first glance, as fleet movements are not an uncommon occurrence, especially for us, however, there are other factors that make this more dangerous than it may seem. You see, my fellow admirals, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, a probe had successfully entered the system of Tikkun, allowing us to view the homeworld for the first time since our exile. What was discovered?_

_Dreadnauts. The Geth will soon be in the possession, not one, but two Dreadnauts, with a third likely coming soon after. But that is not all, their production of war machines and ships have exceeded projections by over 600%, with the production and construction of Mass Accelerator Cannons on the homeworld. The images, vids, and data gathered indicate one thing: The Geth are mobilizing for full-scale galactic war, on such a level we have never seen before._

_The_ esteemed Citadel _Council wants the galaxy to think they are safe. That the Geth threat is no more, after the attempt to take the Citadel. They are wrong. They must be preparing for another strike, especially now that their Reaper flagship "Sovereign" is no more. There is, although, some good news from gathered reports. I believe the Geth could be hacked._

_Now, hear me out. During the Battle of the Citadel, as the Council now refers to it, Geth forces turned on one another, as if they were on opposing sides of the fight. It was like a civil war amongst the Geth. We believe the individual in custody on the Citadel, Jordan Sower, has a means to not only defeating the Geth, but possibly even taking control of them. I would like to formally request an increase in funds to research this new Geth weakness, and I would also recommend attempting contact of Jordan Sower.  
_

_In one Galactic Standard week, when we meet, I will have a fully comprehensive outline to what I plan to achieve with the increase in funds and to discuss the ramifications of these studies. I look forward to this meeting._

_Admiral Rael'Zorah,_

_Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board_

**_Warning: This message and any attached documents are considered classification level 1. Sharing any of this information with anyone not cleared will result in Exile._ **


	14. Chapter 11: Sentanced to Death

** Chapter 11: Sentenced to Death **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Presidium Tower.**

**March 5th, 2183. 1:04 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

"Closing argument, Prosecutor Nilo'Franz vas Karma?" Councilor Tevos asked, staring down at the Quarian in a mostly red environmental suit.

Nilo'Franz shook his head, holding an arm up towards Jordan Sower, who stood by, his hands and legs shackled together with omni-cuffs and flanked by Ashley Williams and Kaiden Alenko, with Shepard watching from the side.

Normally, Jordan would have a huge smile on his face, excited that he'd saved both Kaiden's and Ashely's lives from their fate on Virmire… but he wasn't smiling. Instead, he looked down at the floor, refusing to look at anyone in the eyes. Holding the piece of metal he was given, with both shackled hands carefully, Jordan struggled to keep himself completely composed. It didn't help things that his defense wasn't taken seriously. They wouldn't even consider suicide an option in Udina's death.

Sitting in his hands was a charred piece of red-painted metal, shaped like a shoulder pad. It contained the slightly burnt and ruined symbol of the Autobots.

Nilo'Franz vas Karam spoke up, "The evidence is quite clear, esteemed Councilors." He began. "Jordan Sower assassinated Ambassador Donnell Udina, broke out of C-Sec, and even worked with the _Geth_." He virtually spat the name in disgust, "Look at him, holding that piece of worthless junk in his hands, as if he cared for that murderous race of machines." He shook his head in disappointment, "It is abundantly clear, esteemed Councilors, that Mister Sower has not only betrayed the Galaxy as a whole, but also holds vast amounts of intelligence and knowledge of both us and our enemy, making him a security risk for the entire Citadel and the Galaxy."

Jordan shook his head silently at the accusations. Sure, maybe he'd been working with the Geth, but he didn't kill Udina. He wasn't even granted a real defense attorney for the charges, to make matters even worse. And then, there was the Prosecutor before him…

Prosecutor Nilo'Franz vas Karma nar Neema. From what Jordan's learned about this man, he wasn't surprised at all, really, about what was going on. His story goes that for his Pilgrimage, he went to the Citadel, joining a Law Agency and earning enough money to purchase an entirely new ship for the Migrant Fleet. Upon finishing his Pilgrimage, he was assigned to the new vessel, named the Karma, as it was a human vessel.

However, he didn't stop there. Using his knowledge of the Law, he became an advisor to Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema, becoming involved in countless trials aboard the Migrant Fleet. He was personally responsible for the exile of nearly half a dozen quarians over the past few decades. He also worked as a sort of liaison on the Citadel, running his own firm as he searched for ways to legally regain his people's Embassy. Oh… and did he mention his extreme hatred for all things Geth and AI?

Jordan frowned, still looking down at the final and only remaining piece of Grimlock. He must have tried to save and rescue Jordan when he'd been shot, but was destroyed in the process.

Councilor Tevos nodded, "Then the Council will make a decision." She turned towards her colleagues. Councilor Valern nodded, as did Sparatus and Anderson, the newest member of the Citadel Council. "The Council rules in favor of the charges against Jordan Sower." She looked down upon him from their platform.

Jordan nodded, not surprised by this outcome.

"Commander Shepard," She continued, "You and your crew are given a new assignment." She began, allowing Valern to continue in her place.

"STG and witness reports claim a black Geth dropship flew within the Presidium during the attack, yet was not caught on any of our sensors and systems. We believe they have engineered a stealth ship, similar to the one you are in possession of."

Sparatus nodded, "The Relays have logged several ships of Geth design fleeing into the Terminus Systems. You are to pursue and take down this ship, along with any other remnants of Geth from the attack."

Jordan's eyes widened as his head shot up. They were going after the Nedas… into the Terminus systems… meaning Shepard's death was coming soon.

Shepard nodded without complaint, though Jordan could detect no small amount of anger. They were already blowing off the Reaper threat. "Understood, Councilors." He said, before adding, "I'd like to interrogate Mister Sower, myself, before I leave."

Anderson nodded, "Understandable, given your history with him. I see no problem with this."

Valern nodded, "We've already planned to have Spectre Jondum Bau interrogate him, but if you think you can get the information quicker, then, by all means, have a talk."

The other Councilors nodded, Tevos speaking once more, "Then we are in agreement. Your request has been approved, Commander."

"This hearing is now adjourned." Tevos finished.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, C-Sec Interrogation Room.**

**March 5th, 2183. 2:41 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

This is now, what was it, the third time in this exact same interrogation room? Yeah, this sucks!

Jordan sat, cuffed to the table before him while wearing a nice, fashionable, bright orange jumpsuit. He no longer held the piece of Grimlock, as it was quickly confiscated by C-Sec for "Evidence" purposes, despite the case being over and done with AND the fact they already had a few other spare pieces from its body.

Leaning against the opposing wall were Ashley Williams, Kaiden Alenko, and Garrus Vakarian. From what Jordan could guess, both Tali and Wrex were gone, returning to their respective homes for their own respective reasons. Liara must have been out, or was simply standing on the other side of the one-way glass… yeah, that was probably it since Jordan had hurt her last time he had been interrogated.

John Shepard sat calmly in the opposing chair, looking down at a datapad, watching security footage of Jordan and the Geth at the Embassies during the attack.

Uncomfortable with the silence, Jordan spoke in a whisper, "I'm sorry about Liara. Is… is she ok?" He asked, turning his head towards the mirror.

Shepard sighed and nodded, looking up at Jordan, "She's fine now."

"That's… that's good. I- I didn't mean to hurt her…" He apologized.

Shepard held up an armored hand, "Enough." Jordan nodded, becoming quiet once more as Shepard finished looking over the provided footage. Finally, he spoke again, "Let's start with the Geth…" He said, motioning towards the footage as he slid the datapad closer to Jordan on the table.

"What about them?" He asked with a frown, "I already told you my allegiances, and the Council already decided my guilt."

Kaiden stood up, getting off the wall as he took half of a step forward, "Why don't you run us through this again?"

Ashley straightened up as well, "Yeah, I still can't believe what you're saying about the Geth." Garrus simply watched Jordan carefully, likely watching to see if he'd lie.

Jordan sighed and nodded, giving up on fighting here, "The Geth Collective was approached by Nazara and Saren several months ago, mid-2182." Jordan started, "They were offered upgrades in their hardware and software, in exchange they'd give their allegiance and their aid to take control of the Citadel and let the Reapers return." He explained.

Shepard held his hand up, "Hold on. Nazara and Saren? This isn't what you said last time."

Jordan frowned, "Sovereign is its other name, Nazara is what it called itself to the Geth. I don't know, maybe to make itself seem more intimidating to you guys, but more relatable to the Geth?"

Garrus spoke now, pointing back to what Jordan was saying, "So, they went to the Geth with this offer?"

Nodding, Jordan continued, "The Geth work together, but don't ALL think together. The vast majority of the Collective had chosen to reject the offer, but a small portion wished to join Nazara. That's where the spilt happened. Seeing nothing wrong with a difference of opinion, the Geth Collective peacefully allowed the others to leave, giving them the name of Heretics."

Shepard nodded, "Other than you identifying the Reaper, this sounds like the same story as last time. Let's go back over the next point. What changed?"

Ashley crossed her arms, "Yeah, what made the Geth start killing each other?"

Jordan looked over at her and nodded, raising his arms slightly towards himself before they were forced back to the table, "I did. I went to the Geth and told them the Reapers weren't going to stop with the Organics. That they'd wipe them and their future out as well."

Kaiden shook his head, "That doesn't make sense. Why would the Reapers destroy other synthetics?"

Jordan chuckled humorously, "The same reason humans have killed other humans for as long as we've existed. It doesn't matter who or what you are. All that matters are that you're in their way and not a 'part' of their plan." He informed them, "The Reapers harvest ALL life. Synthetic and Organic alike."

Shepard furrowed his brows, "Then why did the Heretics join them?"

Jordan shook his head, "Don't you remember Saren? He was indoctrinated, right?" He asked. Shepard didn't seem surprised any more than Jordan knew this, but his companions were more-or-less shocked, "Yeah, thought so. By the time the Heretics likely realized the truth, they'd been fully converted to the cause. In the end, though, the Heretics will be destroyed by the Reapers too. They just simply won't fight it when it's their turn to die."

Garrus narrowed his eyes, "How do you know all of this? About Saren? The indoctrination? The Reapers? All of it!"

Shepard stood up, staring down at Jordan, "And Virmire. You warned me about Virmire. That I shouldn't separate my squad." He turned completely to look away, frowning, "I made a great many mistakes that day." He said, "Kirrahe and his entire squad was destroyed before we even made it half-way through the day. The only reason the mission didn't go south…" He turned back around to look at Jordan, a mixture of emotions was within his eyes, "Was because of you."

"M-me?" Jordan asked, shocked.

Commander Shepard nodded, "Yes. If I hadn't brought my entire squad with me that day, we would never have made it long enough to deploy the bomb. That still wasn't enough, though. We were pinned down near the bomb, but then, another Geth ship dropped in, taking out the enemy Dropship and cutting off reinforcements. That gave us enough time to escape… All thanks to that lone, rogue ship. You're doing, I suppose?"

Jordan internally cheered, and externally smiled, "They did it… those bastards actually did it…" He let out in a whisper as he leaned back against his chair, relaxing slightly. He shook his head in disbelief, "I… I didn't think they'd actually go and do that…" He admitted.

Ashley and Kaiden stepped forward in sync, the former asking the important question, "How did you know what was going to happen?"

Jordan looked curiously as Shepard, who glared at him, "Captain Kirrahe needed one member of my squad to join his suicidal charge, both of them volunteered. Remember what I said about two and two?" he asked, "You knew something was going to happen to either of them, didn't you?"

Sower gulped and nodded slowly, "One of them was going to die when you sent one with Kirrahe." He admitted, "But I can't tell you how I knew…"

Shepard slammed his fist down in anger upon the table, "That's bullshit." He responded, "What's so hard about this, Jordan? Why can't you just be honest with us? You clearly know a lot more than you should!"

Jordan frowned, looking away from the four of them, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway, so what's the point?"

The Spectre shook his head, "I've learned a lot of things over these last few months. If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be a Spectre, save the Citadel, and be interrogating a man associated with the Geth, I would have called your bull." He admitted, "Not much can surprise me anymore."

Jordan scoffed, "Yeah, right…" He shook his head sadly, "I know how this is going to work, Commander. You're going to either get the information or not out of me. Regardless of which occurs, I'll still be here in lockup, you'll still be out there fighting the Reapers, and nothing would have changed."

"Kid," Kaiden began, "Give us the benefit of the doubt here and try to see things from our perspective. You've saved all of our lives and many others. When you broke out of prison, not a single C-Sec officer was harmed. Hell, your warning may have actually saved my life."

Ashley nodded towards Kaiden, "Alenko is right. We just want the information. What do you know and how?"

Shepard stepped back towards the table, "Please, Jordan." He asked softly, "Tell us what you know, and maybe I can work out a pardon with Spectre authority."

Jordan hesitated, wavering at the thought. He was tempted, OH so tempted to tell Shepard everything there. Stop his death, warn about the Collectors, warn him about Cerberus, tell him about his origins… but he stopped himself from going through with it.

Yeah, this might sound good at first glance, but there are obvious problems with this. First of all, even if Shepard took everything he said seriously, it'd render all of his future knowledge obsolete. THAT was assuming that Shepard didn't think he was insane.

Some of his knowledge, of his warnings, wouldn't make sense to them yet. Right now, the Collectors are still a myth to most people, including Shepard. No one would believe Jordan if he tried to say the Reapers would arrive in 2186 from Batarian space. Most importantly: Shepard's death? That was one event Jordan was sure he should not, under any circumstances, change. So much of the timeline is dependent on that single event. If that were changed by giving him knowledge now… fuck, that'd be bad.

But still, he had to give Shepard something.

Jordan looked up at Shepard and shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't Commander…" He said, before sighing, "But…" He began as all four of them looked at Jordan. "W-when you return from your mission, your hunt for the Geth, I'll explain everything then, I give you my word." He assured them.

Jordan wasn't sure if everything he and the Geth had done so far would prevent Shepard's death or not thanks to the butterfly effect. If, by chance, Shepard's death is prevented, then what would it hurt to spill everything anyway? It's not like his knowledge would be that accurate by that point anyway. That was the compromise.

Shepard sighed, standing up, "We expect to return within two weeks." He said simply, frowning at Jordan, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, here, Mister Sower." His gaze became harsh, "Don't join the list of people that abused my trust." He said simply, turning to his squad, "Let's go. We need to stop by Requisitions before we go anyway."

And with that, shortly thereafter, Jordan was left alone in the room as Commander Shepard and his squad left. As soon as he was truly alone, he put his head in his hands and shook his head, fighting the tightening of his throat.

He had just sentenced another man who trusted him to his death. First Grimlock… Now Shepard…

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, C-Sec Custody.**

**March 13th, 2183. 7:33 am. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Sitting down at the metal bench in the 'Mess Hall', Jordan stared down in distaste at his meal. "The most important meal of the day, my ass…" He whispered to himself as he began to force himself to eat the garbage provided by C-Sec

He sat there, after his first bite, swirling around the slop in the bowl with a spoon for a few moments, wondering if he should just skip breakfast again and wait until the slop for lunch. Nah… he'd already only eaten half of last night's 'dinner', so he was pretty hungry still. As he sat there, the holoscreen provided in the room turned on, likely by one of the guards watching him.

_"…news! We have just received confirmation that the SSV Normandy, commanded by Spectre Commander John Shepard has been destroyed by an unidentified vessel. Commander Shepard, humanity's first Spectre has been formally declared deceased, killed in action aboard his ship as he made sure his fellow crewmates escaped before him…"_

Jordan tuned out the rest of the program and slammed his head harshly into the table, fighting the guilt building within him. He didn't stop his death… but he could have. Was it necessary? He wasn't sure anymore…

He could almost imagine the conversation between Miranda Lawson and the Illusive Man about Shepard. Project Lazarus was approaching, and the search for John Shepard's body was about to begin. That is, unless that other woman changed something about that within Cerberus…

Cynthia Wake. Who was she? What exactly does she know? What is her long-term goal, if it isn't to save lives and change things? Is she furthering Cerberus' agenda?

He had no idea, all he knew know was that Shepard was dead and…

'Fuck! His crew knows about me!', he thought. What if they come back to the Citadel and demand answers?!

Suddenly, a crash was heard as an object flew into the room. No, scratch that, several identical objects flew into the room, landing and scattering everywhere as they released smoke.

C-Sec Officers around the room burst into action, gripping their weapons tightly as they activated their shield generators and breather masks, aiming their weapons towards the entrance from which the gas grenades came from.

Struggling to breathe as the gas entered his lungs, Jordan began coughing as darkness played at the edges of his vision. What the hell was going on? Was C-Sec under attack?

In response to his unspoken question, armed men and women in white armor burst into the room from all entrances, cutting down the officers as quickly as they could, suffering only mild casualties. One-by-one, the officers of the law fell to the ground, either dead or wounded and soon to be dead. Every single officer who laid on the ground, injured or surrendering was killed by the ringleader, who finally strolled in behind the other men.

The man, an Asian with long black hair and harsh eyes locked onto Jordan as he approached with a wicked grin. He wore a black suit of armor with a familiar golden symbol in the center of his chest, all while he held a long, custom-made katana-like sword in his hand.

Jordan tried to get up from his new location: The floor. However, whether it be from food poisoning or the toxic gas from the grenades, he wasn't sure. His mind, however, was working completely as the name came to mind.

He breathed out harshly as the man approached, "Kai Leng…"

Kai Leng smiled, motioning his men forward with his head, "Ahh, so the Avatar knows who I am… not surprising…" He admitted, his smile growing far colder and harsher, "The Illusive Man would like to speak with you…"

"Go… to hell…" Jordan managed to breath out bravely, making Kai Leng laugh.

"We already are. Bag him!"

And just like he kindly requested, a bag went over his head, shrouding his awareness momentarily, just as he felt what must have been the butt of Leng's blade hit the back of his skull, sending him into a restless sleep.

* * *

** Breaking News: Citadel Security Under Seige! **

_"I'm Emily Wong with FCC news, here with breaking news on the Citadel."_

_"Earlier this morning, at about 08:90, Galactic Standard Time, Citadel Security Headquarters was attacked by a large group of armed men, wearing Cerberus colors. The attack has resulted in the deaths of over thirty officers, and the injury of dozens more."_

_"According to eyewitness reports, Cerberus soldiers entered the complex, using the unrecorded Keeper Tunnel system to invade the C-Sec HQ. Using a combination of assault rifle fire and gas grenades, the men incapacitated the majority of the compound, killing any officers in the way as they went."_

_"Many have wondered: Why did they choose to attack C-Sec? We, at FCC news, have just received an answer to that question."_

An image of Jordan Sower's mugshot appeared on screen, _"Jordan Sower: A suspected and convicted criminal, found guilty of espionage, illegal AI association, and assault on a C-Sec Officer, was found to have been taken alive by the organization. Security footage reveals Jordan's unconscious body being taken by Cerberus forces as they escaped the compound and the Citadel successfully."_

_"Shortly after the reason for the attack was revealed, Councilor Valern spoke in a press conference with the other Councilors, addressing the issue. He had this to say:"_

Councilor Valern appeared on screen, the Salarian's eyes locked firmly to the camera as he spoke, _"Jordan Sower, although appearing to have been taken unwillingly, is a dangerous fugitive from the law. The Council has offered a ten million credit reward to anyone who can point towards Jordan Sower's location and capture, or who can bring him in for questioning. The reward is doubled for anyone who brings him in alive..."_

The perspective returns to Wong, _"The Councilors continued in the press conference, discussing future actions being taken against the terrorist organization. While many are surprised by the large bounty on Jordan's head, far more wonder what has truly earned him this reputation…"_

The holoscreen shut off.

"Hmmm… this never happened before…" A man said, wondering what on earth was happening. "Could it be... Could there really be... someone else like me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a further plan originally to utilize the Quarian OC Nilo'Franz vas Karma. Originally, I was considering an Ace Attorney-styled set of chapters with a trial for Jordan's innocence in Udina's death, but the idea was scrapped. However, I did write most of the trial, and posted it on FanFiction if anyone cares enough for it.


	15. Chapter 12: Breaking Free

** Chapter 12: Breaking Free  
**

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, On approach to Cronos Station.**

**March 6th, 2183. 1:01 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

He could feel the hard, uncomfortable metal floor beneath him and the hard, cold wall against his back as consciousness slowly returned to Jordan, replacing the darkness with darkness… and a headache.

Mister Sower groaned as tried to straighten up, feeling the odd bag-like object over his face, before realizing that he was, for probably the millionth time since arriving in Mass Effect, in cuffs. Someone was nearby and noticed him.

"Ahh, the esteemed Avatar graces us with his presence." Kai Leng's deep voice said from Jordan's left. He jerked his head towards the voice, slamming it into a solid object that he could've sworn wasn't near his head a second earlier. The blow sent Jordan's senses spinning, before they slowly returned to a sense of normalcy.

Groaning, Jordan tried to respond as brilliantly as possible despite his possible concussion from when he was kidnapped, "Fuck you."

Kai Leng chuckled humorlessly, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?" He asked, "Oh wait, she was just a Broker agent…" He added.

"I don't… I don't work for the Broker…" Jordan got out.

"Ha, isn't that obvious. The Broker's been trying to extract you for weeks, now. Alive or dead." He helpfully informed Jordan.

Finally, Jordan decided to ask the question of the hour, "Why am I here? Where are we?"

"Ahh, isn't that the question of the hour?" 'That's literally what I was just thinking!' Jordan thought. Clearly unable to hear Jordan's thoughts, Leng decided that he'd inform Jordan, "We're on our way to meet my boss, Avatar."

"Why do you… keep calling me that?"

He might have shrugged, he might have not it was hard to tell with the bag over his head, "It's what we've been told you are. Some bullshit title of some sort, meaning you're important. Apparently, it's been deemed above my pay grade to know more…" He added bitterly.

'Seems like someone isn't as important as they thought they were…' Jordan thought. After a moment, he cleared his throat, "So… how far out are we from Cronos…" Jordan sealed his lips at his mistake.

Kai Leng seemed incredibly amused by this, based off of his tone, "Ha! That's exactly what I thought." He said, "We knew you had all sorts of information, but to know the name of the Illusive Man's base… what a joke."

Jordan sighed, leaning back against the wall of what was probably a shuttle or ship of some kind. Probably the former, considering his close proximity to the infamous Cerberus assassin.

"To answer your question, you'll be there when you wake up."

"Now wait just a mome-" Jordan tried, before feeling the butt of another weapon smash the side of his skull, sending him sliding to the ground. This time, however, his consciousness only spun around rapidly, not quite darkening.

Jordan promptly emptied all of the contents of his stomach, which wasn't much. "Dammit, he was supposed to go out…" Kai Leng cursed, "Oh well…"

"W-wai-!" He tried to manage…

Then everything went dark.

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station.**

**March 6th, 2183. 3:59 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Waiting patiently in interrogation room number 87, Jordan began to wonder if his future in Mass Effect was ever going to consist of something other than a pattern of losing consciousness and being imprisoned/ interrogated. What was this now? The fourth time he'd been 'captured'?

Let's see, he was imprisoned in C-Sec for attacking Officer Lang and trying to get a ship. That's one. Then he was kinda held by the Broker agents at Barla Von's bank. Maybe a second one? The Geth didn't hold him hostage, only watching him closely at first, so that didn't count. The Shepard's custody on the Normandy. There's three. Then, once again, C-Sec, so four. Then C-Sec again after the Battle of the Citadel, so that's five-ish.

Finally, that left Jordan with his current kidnapping at the hands of Kai Leng and Cerberus, so that's either five or six, depending on whether or not Barla Von's place counted. So, great… at least five captures in, what, two months?

Sitting there in the 'cell' without a bag over his head now, Jordan slowly took in his surroundings. There was a bed over to the side, smaller than a twin-sized bed. He also noticed a kindly-provided throne for bathroom purposes, along with a sink. How thoughtful! Then, there were the walls, all nice and default white, with a Cerberus symbol nicely painted on the wall above his bed.

Oh, and did he mention the entire wall missing, replaced with a kinetic barrier? Yeah, so absolutely no privacy at all in here. He could easily make out the cameras on the opposing wall, but also knew, without a doubt, that there were likely countless hidden devices in the room with him, monitoring ever sound, movement, and event that occurred in here.

With, once again, nothing to do but wait, Jordan laid upon the slightly-comfortable bed, fiddling silently with his omni-tool with his thoughts and connection to it. He quickly realized he had full access to the omni-tool, minus extranet connection. If he really wanted to, he could probably bring up the interface and try to escape… which is what they were probably waiting and watching him for.

Why else would he suddenly have full access to it again? Plus, he was being watched 24/7/365, meaning they'd know the moment he 'tried' to turn on his omni-tool. Probably wanted to see his capabilities…

No, he wasn't going to play by their rules or their game in general, and they certainly didn't know that he could interact with his omni-tool without physically interfacing with it, so he could listen to music while in here. Deciding to do just that, Jordan turned on his music, playing it silently within his head. Smiling and bobbing his head as he laid there with his eyes closed, Jordan proceeded to waste as much time as he currently could.

Using his arms and hands dramatically, our hero played air-drums along to the rock music. It seemed almost appropriate given the circumstances. He mouthed out the words along with the singer, before it quickly changed into singing despite his lack of a 'singing voice'.

"…In a room full of mirrors…"

"There's only one way out…"

"I had to take leave of my senses."

"To draw my own conclusions."

"Had to swing for the fences."

"…To find my own solution."

"In a world gone mad,"

"It's all so sad…"

"Look what we've become…"

"Welcome to the age of the new revolution."

"Evolve, evolve. Revolution. Evolve, evolve. Revolution. Evolve, evolve…" Jordan continued, before he was interrupted by yet another individual clearing their throat. Quickly shutting off the music and opening his eyes as he sat up, Jordan turned towards the barrier of his cell.

Cynthia Wake, wearing a full set of Cerberus armor, stood there with an amused smile. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest as she eyed Jordan carefully. He could also make out Miranda, standing a little to the side as well. She wore her copyrighted, trademarked skintight suit. (Patent pending)

Jordan groaned, leaning against the wall, "Great…" He groaned.

"I see our esteemed guest is comfortable…" Cynthia said, shaking her head, "So, Jordan Sower… how was your trip? I heard you knew of your destination before you even arrived." She finished, watching Jordan carefully.

No really caring at this point, Jordan shrugged, "Maybe… maybe not…"

Miranda spoke now, "The Illusive Man wishes to speak to you."

Jordan rolled his eyes, "Great, just great… So, lemme guess." Jordan said, "You two are here to escort me to Timmy?"

"Timmy?" Miranda asked, raising an eyebrow without betraying any other emotion. Seems like she's back to her usual self now…

Cynthia smiled, "My, my, you are a smart one, Jordan." She patronized him. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Jordan sighed, extending his arms towards them in resignation, "Yeah, yeah, I'll go willingly."

"Good." She said with a smirk, "I thought we'd have to bring out Kai Leng's sword or another electrical shock…" With that, Jordan was promptly cuffed as soon as the field went down.

'This'll be fun…'

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station, TIM's Inner Sanctum.**

**March 6th, 2183. 4:24 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

…and there was Timmy, sitting upon his glorious throne. With the illustrious star of Anadius filling the room with reddish-blue light, The Illusive Man sat there, staring at Jordan curiously as he took a drag of whatever cigarette he was in the process of smoking. A half-empty glass of expensive alcohol sat beside him.

To either side of Jordan were the two Operatives, standing at some sort of attention towards the Illusive Man. Jordan, himself, was un-cuffed, but could almost feel Miranda's and Cynthia's biotics, ready to incapacitate Jordan at a moment's notice. Despite this, it seemed the Illusive Man was unafraid of Jordan, instead, he seemed rather amused.

Separating the cig from his mouth, The Illusive Man breathed out a cloud of smoke, before speaking, making eye contact with Cynthia, "Miss Wake, this is the man you spoke of?" He asked curiously, "The one who threatens Cerberus' future?" He seemed rather amused as he asked these questions.

Cynthia nodded, "Yes sir. He's the one who's been working with the Geth."

He nodded, holding his cigarette in his off-hand, "I can see that." He answered, turning his gaze towards Jordan, "So, what do you have to say for yourself, Sower Ambassador?"

Jordan swallowed, "I, well, I don't…"

The Illusive Man interrupted him with a wave of his hand, using his free one to take a small sip of his drink. Putting it back down, The Illusive Man spoke once more, "I lack the time and patience for evasion, Mister Sower." He said, motioning towards the monitors nearby. On them, it displayed a picture of a very familiar looking woman.

Hope Lillium. Rasa. Maya Brooks. Regardless of her name, she appeared on screen, "Operative Rasa was killed on the Citadel by an agent of the Shadow Broker, Mister Sower. Shortly after you spoke with the Broker, no less. Convenient, isn't it?"

Jordan smiled awkwardly, "Look, Mister Illusive Man, sir. I think this is a huge misunderstanding."

"Really? Then please, enlighten me." He responded easily, sitting back as he allowed Jordan to speak.

"I'm just a guy fighting the Reapers, sir. I don't want to die or have anyone else die." He explained, "I didn't mean for Agent Rasa to die, I was just…"

"So, you admit you were responsible for her death?"

"See, sir? He knew about our agent on the Citadel!" Cynthia cut in, "He should be disposed of."

The Illusive Man went silent for a moment, looking over at Cynthia, "Perhaps. However, his information could prove vital to our operations." He replied. Looking over to his right, Jordan could see Cynthia didn't like this answer. If she doesn't approve, then Jordan does, all things considered!

However, Jordan's hopes were soon crushed, "Since Mister Sower doesn't seem inclined to share this knowledge, perhaps you could persuade him otherwise?" He rhetorically asked. Jordan paled as Cynthia's frown turned upside down.

"Of course, sir." She said with a little too much joy.

He turned back to Jordan, "Last chance, Mr. Sower. Are you willing to share any of this information willingly?"

His thoughts raced as he tried to think of something to do. What should he say? What could he say? Surely, anything he said now, especially in front of Cynthia, would only make things worse, wouldn't it?! He needed to speak to the Illusive Man alone. Maybe warn him about Cynthia? Warn him about indoctrination? C'mon, think!

Jordan swallowed, "If I can speak to you alone, sir, then perhaps I'd be willing to share what I know."

The Illusive Man shook his head, frowning, "That wasn't the answer I was looking for, Sower. Operative Wake, Operative Lawson, take our guest back to his cell for questioning."

"With pleasure, sir."

"Of course, sir."

"W-wait!" Jordan cried out before he could be taken away, "Mr. Harper, please…" He begged, dropping the name as quickly as he could.

Any and all amusement within TIM's eyes vanished as he heard his name. The Illusive Man held up a hand, silently commanding both of the Operatives to pause. "Both of you, out. Now." He said neutrally, leaving no room for argument. However, that didn't stop Operative number two.

Cynthia looked outraged, "Sir, you can't possibly think this is a-…."

"Operative Wake." He interrupted, glaring at her, "Out."

Fuming in rage, Cynthia abruptly turned around and left, followed immediately by a neutral Miranda. Now, alone with the Illusive Man, Jordan could feel the tense atmosphere remain. Locking eyes with the terrorist leader, Jordan felt his composure waver. No turning back now.

"Speak." The Illusive Man spoke, "What do you know?"

Jordan nodded, "I know… I know that your real name is Jack Harper." He admitted.

"There are less than a dozen individuals alive who know that name, and far fewer can associate me with it." Jack replied, "How do you know this information?" He demanded, understandably angry at the revelation.

'Now that I have his attention, I'm going to need to come up with a cover of some kind. Give him a reason I know this without the truth. He wouldn't believe the truth anyway. Hmmm, what's a plausible reason to work with the Geth, know his true name, and associate temporarily with the Broker…?' Jordan tried to brainstorm, before realizing he'd probably made some VERY inconsistent decisions in his past. Explaining this away wouldn't be easy.

Well… they do say that the best lies are half-truths…

"I know the future." He blurted out.

The Illusive Man narrowed his eyes, "Indeed…" He replied sarcastically, "So, what? You're an oracle, similar to the Greek Oracles of Delphi? You're here to profess and proclaim the future?" he asked, obviously not believing this.

Jordan frowned, "I'm telling the truth, sir." He had to think of a way to prove it, "Shepard." He finally said, catching TIM's attention.

"What about him?"

Recalling the conversation at the beginning of Mass Effect 2 with absolute clarity (for reasons unknown at the time), he began to quote it, praying the conversation played out the same way.

Maintaining eye contact with the Illusive Man, he spoke, "Our sacrifices have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains our best hope." Jordan began, taking a breath before continuing, "But they're sending him to fight Geth. Geth. We both know they're not the real threat. The Reapers are still out there."

The Illusive Man narrowed his cybernetic eyes, "Where did you…?"

Jordan continued, "And it's up to us to stop them." Pausing for just a moment, "The council will never trust Cerberus. They'll never accept our help. Even after everything humanity has accomplished. But Shepard…. They'll follow him. He's a hero, a bloody icon. But he's just one man. If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow"

The Illusive Man gripped his glass, finishing his drink before speaking in sync with Jordan as he continued, "Then see to it that we don't lose him."

Jordan remained silent after that, caught in a staring contest and battle of wills against the Illusive Man as he took another drag of his cigarette. "That conversation was not recorded." He finally said simply.

Jordan nodded, "But I saw and heard the entire conversation long before it happened."

"Still, that is hardly evidence of foresight." He came back, still skeptical, but his attention was now fully there.

"Right now, Shepard's body is on its way to the hands of the Shadow Broker, who plans to sell the body to the Collectors." Jordan said, still trying to convince him, "Send Miranda to Omega. She'll be able to track it down from there."

"I'm not saying I believe you." Jack Harper began, sitting upright and slight forward now, "But for argument's sake, let's say you're right. Let's assume you know the future… How does this apply to your previous actions?"

Jordan shook his head, "It's had everything to do with it. I went to the Geth and told them about the future."

"And they believed you?"

Jordan laughed bitterly, "It's funny. It seems the only ones who accept evidence at face value are Synthetics." He shook his head, "Yeah, they believed me. That's how I began to work with them. I'm trying to change what I saw."

"And what did you see, Mister Sower, that made you start this crusade?"

"The Reapers, sir." Jordan began, taking a deep breath, "The Reapers are coming, Mister Harper, and they're going to destroy all life in the Galaxy, starting with humanity." Jordan looked carefully into TIM's eyes, "You've read the reports on Virmire, right?"

Jack Harper nodded, "I have. The cloned Krogan army and everything else of importance."

"Most importantly, the indoctrination." Jordan took a deep breath. Moment of truth, "Illusive Man… Jack Harper… I saw the future… and in it, you become indoctrinated. You will doom humanity…" Jordan admitted.

The Illusive Man looked furious at the accusation. A far cry from the composure he normally maintained, "You're wrong." He instantly replied, "I would never betray humanity."

Jordan shook his head, "That's what I saw, but that's why I'm happy that I'm here, sir." He said, "With this knowledge, perhaps you can avoid that fate. Help us defeat the Reapers."

"This is what Operative Wake was warning me about…" He finally responded, as if he understood now, "You're trying to make me doubt myself. Doubt my motives…"

Jordan shook his head wildly now, desperation in his eyes, "Sir, you CAN'T trust Cynthia!"

"And why is that?" He asked harshly, "She's one of my top Operatives, Mister Sower. She's given me no reason to doubt or even suspect her of…"

"WAIT!" Jordan shouted as realization dawned on him, "Wh-what did you say?"

"She's given me no reason to doubt her, Mister Sower. No reason to suspect her of anything like what you're implying." He answered easily, slowing his speech down a bit for Jordan's sake.

Jordan frowned, "No… Sir, do you trust her implicitly? One hundred percent? With your life?"

"Yes, of course, I…" His expression froze as the implications finally hit him, "I… I've not doubted her once." He admitted, closing his eyes as he thought about the situation carefully, "Everything she's said, I've listened to. Every decision that she'd disagreed with, I'd changed my mind and followed her lead…" He looked up at Jordan suddenly, "What do you know?"

"Mr. Harper, think back to Miranda Lawson!" He quickly directed now that his point was sticking, "You've known her for years, ever since she'd joined Cerberus after escaping her father. She cold, calculating, and perfect. Has she changed at all since Cynthia Wake joined Cerberus?"

He nodded, completely forgetting about the cigarette in his hand as the implications all came together, forming a very disturbing picture. "Focus on your doubt, Illusive Man. You know something is very, very wrong!"

He slowly nodded, a look of fear and desperation flickered in his eyes, "She's… she's been playing us…" He shook his head, "What do you know?" He asked Jordan once more, this time demanding an answer.

"Sir…" Jordan said, "I think she's indoctrinating you…" He finally said, putting the pieces together. Miranda's drastic changes in nature. Her obedience to Cynthia. The Illusive Man's lack of doubt in her. Yet somehow, Jordan was able to break TIM free for a moment.

Jordan's eyes widened, "She was surprised when you told her to leave." Jordan said, "Yet you didn't listen."

"What changed?" He asked aloud, suddenly very interested in what Jordan had to say.

"I did…" Jordan said, "Sir, one of the most important things to you in this universe is your secrets. I know them, which must have snapped you out of it. And… and maybe you being away from her presence allows you to think more clearly?" Jordan offered, "You might not believe me, Jack, but at least try to verify it."

"What are you suggesting, Jordan?"

"Stay away from her. See if your opinions change without her influence. If I'm right, then she's a security risk, sir. She could doom humanity." 'I think I'm getting through…' Jordan thought.

He nodded, "I believe it's worth a try…" he admitted, finally returning to his cig, taking another drag, before breathing out, "Very well, we'll try it your way, Mister Sower." He said, "You will return to your cell and fully cooperate with us. If in a few days' time, I determine what you said is valid, I'll hear you out. Does that sound fair?"

Jordan nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Remember, Sower. Full cooperation."

"I understand."

Satisfied, The Illusive Man pressed a button on his chair, "Miss Lawson, can you please return to my chambers immediately to escort our guest back to his room? Alone." He added immediately.

_"Of course, sir. On my way."_

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station.**

**March 6th, 2183. 5:02 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan had just returned to his cell, confident that he'd made yet another good, positive decision and change. He could tell the Illusive Man was concerned with the points he was making. Maybe this would stop whatever plan Cynthia had AND stop his indoctrination.

Sitting in his cell, making no fuss at all about his predicament, he observed Miranda watching Jordan for a few moments, before Cynthia stormed into view, looking more pissed off than ever. Maybe it had something to do with him? Yeah, probably, considering the kinetic barrier dropped and she stepped inside the moment she got close to his cell.

Jordan didn't have a chance to make a snarky response, before he flew into an opposing wall in his cell, back held against it and feet off the ground as he was held by Cynthia's biotics. The woman in question was glowing dark blue, as were her eyes, as she looked upon Jordan with nothing short of pure hatred.

"You Bastard!" She screamed at him, "What the hell have you done? What the fuck did you say to The Illusive Man?!" She demanded. Miranda entered the cell immediately, preparing to jump in, until Cynthia turned and glared at her for a moment, stopped the Operative in her tracks.

"I.. I don't…" Pain erupted across Jordan's back as he was pressed harder into the wall.

"Cut the crap, Jordan!" She demanded, "WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY?!"

"Wh-what happened…" Jordan asked, trying to play innocent.

"What happened?!" She asked, outraged, "HE REFUSES TO BE IN MY PRESENCE!" She screamed at him, "He's suspicious of me! ME?! I've done nothing but further Cerberus' agenda, and this is how I'm repaid?!"

Joining in with her biotics, Cynthia's well-manicured hand rose up to Jordan's throat, "Answer me, Avatar!" She demanded, "What did you tell him in that room?!" She squeezed her grip to send his body into a panic, forcing him to begin to struggle, which in turn brought a smile to her lips.

"I… I warned him about his indoctrination…" Jordan finally admitted.

Her eyes grew harsher as they visibly began to emit blue light from her irises, "YOU WHAT?!" She asked, outraged, "Do you have any idea what the fuck you've done?"

Miranda, who'd been standing by and watching this whole thing silently up until now, seemed to gather her courage as she responded, "Saved the Illusive Man from a fate worse than death?"

Turning around immediately, dark tendrils of energy wrapped around Miranda's body, "What did you just say to me, Lawson? Did you just question me?"

Her struggling against the energy lasted only a second before she shook her head, "No ma'am."

Jordan's eyes widened, "My God… you're controlling her…" He realized, "J-just like…" He tried to say The Illusive Man, but she interrupted him.

"About time you figure it out _Avatar_. Let me guess, you're the Avatar of Synthesis, aren't you?" She asked rhetorically, "Well, you're looking at the chosen champion of Control. I am the Avatar of Control. The one, true way to save the Galaxy."

Jordan shook his head as she continued to grip his throat, "Y-you're insane…"

She snarled, "You don't understand anything, do you?! Controlling the Reapers is the only solution! The Illusive Man knows it! Shepard knows it. Even the goddamn Catalyst knows it!" She declared, "And you just HAD to go and try to change things, didn't you?!"

Jordan forced his omni-tool online, firing a quick Overload at her. The unexpected shock forced her to let go of Jordan, both with her hand and her biotics, as she stepped back a bit.

She shook with rage, exiting the cell and reapplying the Kinetic barriers, leaving Jordan and Miranda inside, "Miranda, watch Jordan. If he tries anything, shoot him. I think it's time for a… change in management…" She said, turning around and leaving immediately.

Jordan's face began to pale as he stood up, watching her leave. Is she… is she going to seize control of Cerberus? Jordan began to try to leave, before he heard the telltale sounds of a gun unfolding. Freezing in place, Jordan slowly turned toward the sound.

"Not another step, Sower." Miranda calmly spoke, her weapon raised against Jordan, "I will not hesitate to kill you."

'Shit!' Jordan thought. He had to stop her. He didn't know how, but he had to. If Cynthia took over Cerberus, there'd be no telling how bad things could get. He'd broken the Illusive Man free of her hold temporarily, but Miranda was still under her control.

Jordan held his hands up in surrender, silently creating a limited shield around himself thanks to his synthetic components and the Geth Shield Boost tech. He looked her in the eyes, no doubt in Jordan's mind that she'd kill him. He needed to break her free, just like TIM. He needed to shock her, use something important to break through and get her to listen.

You know what this means…

"Miranda, if you shoot me and the Geth don't receive word I'm fine, I promise you…" He began, steeling his gaze to make him appear as serious as possible as did the only stupid decision possible: Bluff, "The Geth will inform Henry Lawson of Oriana's location on Illium."

She froze, beginning to shake lightly as her hold on the weapon tightened, "What did you say?" She asked just above a whisper. When Jordan didn't respond, she stepped closer, her gun now against his temple, "What did you just bloody say?! How do you know about Oriana?!" She demanded, "You so much as hurt a hair on her head…" She didn't need to finish that threat.

Jordan nodded slowly, "She'll be fine. As long as you cooperate, that is."

"Wh-what do you want?" She asked, her eyes clear of any of the darkness that Cynthia had placed there moments ago.

"Listen to me, do you trust Cynthia?" He asked quickly, his hands still up.

"What are you talking ab-"

"Stop! Answer me!" Jordan interrupted quickly. Time was of the essence. "Do you trust Cynthia?"

"Yes, of course, I do."

"Why?"

"Because she…" She began, before pausing as her resolve wavered.

"She's controlling you, Miranda. She's using you AND Cerberus." Jordan tried, "It's obvious! How'd she gain your trust, huh? You trust no one!"

"No." She denied, shaking her head, "There's no way she's…"

"Look around you, Miranda!" Jordan shouted, "She ordered you to guard me while she goes to replace the Illusive Man in a hostile takeover. A coup! How can you not see it?"

Realization dawned on her as the pistol in her hand wavered, "No… what's… What's going on?" She finally asked, confused.

Jordan breathed out a sigh in relief, 'Yes! I think I've broken through…' He thought, "Alright, Miranda, we need to stop her!" He said, motioning towards the kinetic barrier, "We need to leave and stop Cynthia!"

"Who are you, really?" She demanded, "How do you know all of this?"

Shaking his head, he answered, "What does it matter? We're running out of time. I promise I'll explain everything later, but if we don't stop her now, it won't matter what my answer is… Now, will you trust me?"

"I… Alright." She finally answered, lowering her weapon and using her omni-tool to deactivate the barrier. "What's the plan?"

Jordan wanted to panic. He really did. Did HE need to have a plan now? What about her? Why him? Dammit! Externally, he paused before a half-answer came to him, "We need to confront her, and it'll probably turn violent. I'll need a suit of light armor and some sort of weapon."

She nodded, "The armory is on the way to the Illusive Man's office."

"Good, lead the way." He replied with a light, stressed-out smiled, "And see if you can warn the Illusive Man. Slow her down, maybe…"

And with that, the two of them raced out of the room together, ready to stop the attempted coup. That's when the station-wide alarms began to go off.


	16. Chapter 13: Everything is under CONTROL

** Chapter 13: Everything is under CONTROL **

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station, Armory #3.**

**March 6th, 2183. 5:20 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

_"Attention all Cerberus Personnel."_ The Illusive Man's voice rung out across the entire station, _"Operative Lawson has betrayed this organization and is working with our newly arrived criminal: Jordan Sower. You are to shoot our prisoner on sight, but take Miss Lawson alive!"_

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" Jordan cursed, using his omni-tool to hack the door closed behind the two of them, locking themselves into the armory.

"I don't understand." Miranda said, placing a suit of armor over her catsuit, "Why is the Illusive Man turning against us?"

Jordan shook his head, slipping on a light suit of Cerberus armor, himself, "It's Cynthia. She's probably seized control of the Illusive Man's office and forced him into this."

"Then he's already dead and Cerberus is fallen," Miranda replied, swiping an M-4 Shuriken submachine gun and an M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol from the weapons locker, equipping them on her person. "We need to get out of here while we still can."

"We can't." Jordan replied quickly, "Imagine the damage someone like Cynthia could cause with Cerberus' resources, Miranda."

"I… You're right, dammit!" She cursed, slamming an armored fist into the locker door. She quickly turned toward Jordan, "How did she control me like that? I couldn't… I didn't even realize what was wrong until you… did whatever you did."

Jordan smiled warmly at her despite the situation, "You're welcome, Miss Lawson." He couldn't help it, Miranda was one of his favorite LIs in all of the games. Liara was cool, Ashely was kinda nice, Tali was cool too, but Miranda, he'd always had a soft spot for Miranda despite her original icy exterior… He couldn't help but choose her over everyone else, in his first playthrough and many others.

Grabbing his own weapons, Jordan swiped an M-3 of his own, favoring the basic pistol, as well as a rifle that caught his eye immediately. "Nice." He said, grabbing the M-96 Mattock and a few thermal clips. Obviously, Cerberus is ahead of the curve with the introduction of thermal clips, luckily enough, considering his experience with the Geth and their invention of the thermal clips.

"You know how to use a Mattock?" She asked, a perfect eyebrow raised. God, her beauty, now that Jordan took a moment to admire it, was off the charts. If she was beautiful in the games, she was gorgeous here. But, now wasn't the time to compare the games to this reality!

Jordan shrugged, snapping out if it, "Should be simple enough. Just point, aim, and shoot, right? I think I can handle something like this…"

She rolled her eyes, "Let's just go then, before I change my mind."

"Wait." Jordan interrupted, his eyes wide as he slowly pointed to a nearby table in the room, "Is… Is that what I think it is?"

Sitting on the weapons bench was a black, white, and grey weapon, slightly larger than the rest of the weapons in the room. The Arc Projector… A heavy, ionization weapon, ready for testing. Jordan smiled wickedly as he picked up the heavy weapon, "Damn, this is heavier than I thought…"

"Oh, no." Miranda said, crossing her arms, "That thing's not even out of the prototype phase."

"But… but Miranda…"

She finally gave in with a frown, "If it blows up in your hands and kills you, it's your own damn fault." She replied, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Good enough for me."

"Alright, enough time's been wasted. Let's go!"

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station.**

**March 6th, 2183. 5:30 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

"Freez- whoa…!" A Cerberus Trooper, wearing armor eerily similar in style to the suits of ME3, exclaimed as he rose into the air, body wreathed in a biotic aura.

A simple, single shot from Miranda's M-5 pierced the trooper's brain, ending his exclamation as the pair made their way through the Cerberus station. She was hardly breaking a sweat by this point, no doubt because of her genetic perfection and nearly superhuman biotic abilities.

Jordan nodded to her in appreciation of her skills, Mattock in hand, as he continued further, with Miranda by his side.

They entered some kind of Atrium, complete with raised physical barriers around plants, almost as if it was calling for a firefight in a video game. Only the Illusive Man would pour the amount of money into this station that it would take to build this kind of 'almost-park' in the center of a space station. "How much further?" Jordan asked, watching their sides carefully, sweeping the area with his gun like he'd seen in both games and tv.

"Almost there." She replied evenly, "After the Atrium, we go up a floor, down a few halls, and then up with an elevator."

"There they are!" A modulated voice called out from above.

A Centurion, flanked by four Troopers, landed on in the Atrium, having dropped down from one of the many above floors. "Kill Jordan first, he's the prime target." He commanded, throwing a grenade their way. "Fuck!" Jordan yelled, diving to the side, up against one of the barriers holding in a tree and soil as he narrowly escaped the blast radius.

Miranda, with far more grace than Jordan, entered cover beside him, firing shots as she did so and forcing the enemy squad into cover of their own. She peeked around the corner, throwing an overload at the Centurion, blowing out his shields, just as a squad of two more Centurions, two Troopers, and two Guardians, which were leading the other four as they entered through the door our two heroes needed to go through next.

"Now might be a good time, Jordan," Miranda said, back in cover as she motioned towards the newest advancing squad with her head.

Jordan smiled, putting the Mattock onto the magnetic lock on his back as he replaced it with the Arc Projector. "I've always wanted to use one of these babies in real life…" He pulled the trigger, hearing the telltale sounds of it powering up. As it grew closer and closer to firing, he exited over with a Geth Shield Boost, aiming his newest toy at the new group of six.

The electricity exited the prongs of the heavy weapon, hitting the first of the two Centurions head on. His shields exploded from the electrical overload as his muscles seized up from the shock, stunning him for a moment, before he exploded in a violent warp from Miranda. Just before he died, he was kind enough to channel the electricity inefficiently enough for it to jump, entering his partner Centurion too. It stayed put for just a second, before it jumped to one Guardian and one Trooper, before also jumping to the other two, burning out their armors' HUDs and stunning them in place.

As Miranda let her biotics recharge, she swapped used her M-4, tearing the remaining five of the squad apart, including the guardians since the electricity caused their muscles to tighten, relieving them of their shields momentarily.

"Take cover, they're tearing us apart!" The lone Centurion leading the first squad shouted.

Jordan cheered, "Yeah, we're doing good!"

"We?" Miranda asked incredulously.

Readying an overload, Jordan peaked out of cover and blasted the Centurion, as he finally decided Miranda was the bigger threat here and was focusing on her. The Centurion stumbled back in shock as his shields gave up, just before a burst from Miranda's M-4 pierced his head and killed him.

The remained four troopers began their assault on the two of them, which was promptly ended by the two of them, with Jordan managing a headshot on one of them with his Mattock and killing the second one. The room was silent for a moment as the two of them caught their breath and swapped out thermal clips.

Jordan looked over at Miranda smiling at her, "We… we make a good team… Miranda." He said between breaths. She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"You're untrained." She replied evenly. "Other than that, you're not useless."

Jordan sighed, "Thanks." He replied sarcastically, grumbling, "Not you too…", under his breath at the training comment. As true as it was, training sucked. Plus, Jordan wasn't a perfectly engineered stealth operative with over a decade of training. Hell, he was a simple college student only three months ago…

Ready to move on, the duo crossed the rest of the Atrium, entering the door they needed before going down this first hallway. Up a set of stairs and down another hallway, they soon arrived at a maintenance shaft.

"Seriously?" Jordan asked, pointing towards the nearby elevator, "Why not this?"

She shook her head as she focused her biotics, unlocking the shaft, "Cynthia's not stupid, Jordan. She'd lock down the elevator the moment we were between floors."

"How do you know that?" Jordan asked.

She sighed, head dropping slightly in shame, "Because I'm the one who trained her for the last year. It's what I would do…"

Jordan frowned, "Dammit!" He cursed, "Of course she was trained by you. Just couldn't have been trained by some other lackey, could she…" He grumbled.

"In retrospect, it didn't make much sense either, alright?" She admitted, "But knowing what I do now about her, it makes a sort of sense." The door opened and she turned to Jordan, "How much control does she have, Jordan?"

Jordan shrugged, "Honestly? I'm not sure…" He admitted, to which Miranda narrowed her eyes, before realization dawned on Jordan, "No…" He whispered.

"What?"

 _"Look at the power they wield! Look at what they can do!"_ The Illusive Man's voice rang out in Jordan's head, the image of Shepard shooting Anderson appearing momentarily. If the Illusive Man could manage that much by that point… what could Cynthia do? He swallowed, "She… she might be able to completely control the Illusive Man right now…"

"On what kind of level?" She asked.

Jordan looked at her, "The highest level! She might be able to actually seize control of his actions directly, like Harbinger!" He exclaimed. Miranda looked at him curiously at that unknown name drop, but before she could ask about it, Jordan continued, "We need to hurry!" He added quickly, as he heard footsteps far down the hell, coming likely from reinforcements.

She nodded, "In you go."

Together, the two of them entered the elevator maintenance shaft, making their way up to the Illusive Man's office.

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station, TIM's Inner Sanctum**

**March 6th, 2183. 5:55 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan Sower and Miranda Lawson quickly entered the door to the most important room on the station. Turning back around with his omni-tool active, Jordan slammed his hand onto the now-closed door, his skin glowing green as he tried to seize control of the door mechanism. Green wiring spread across the door for a moment before vanishing, sealing the door. That'll slow down the operatives and soldiers on the other side.

Miranda stared at Jordan in shock, "What in bloody hell was that? Why didn't you use that earlier?"

Jordan shook his head, panting, "Because… I still haven't mastered it… and it's exhausting…"

"…And because he still resists his calling…" Cynthia's voice called out from behind the two of them. Turning around, their eyes landed on her… and the Illusive Man.

The Illusive Man, Jack Harper, sat upon his throne, looking unbelievably uncomfortable. Maybe it had something to do with the blue swirls of both biotic and non-biotic energy flowing around him from Cynthia. Maybe it was because of the M-3 pressed against his temple by his own right hand. Maybe it was because his glass of probably-whiskey was shattered on the ground next to him, the liquid forming a nice brown puddle amongst the glass shards. All of the above, maybe?

Cynthia, on the other hand, looked quite relaxed upon first glance. She leaned against the side of the Illusive Man's chair, smiling madly at the two of them in her Cerberus armor. Her right hand was curled into a fist as it laid on the chair to the left of the Illusive Man's head.

She shook her head dismissively at the pair of them, "Unless you'd like Timmy's brains to decorate my new office, I suggest you hold fire. That is, unless you think your bullets can pierce my barrier quicker than his trigger finger can move…"

Jordan held his Mattock, aiming towards her. Miranda, too, held her weapon and aimed it at Cynthia, frowning.

She shook her head, "Why Cynthia?" She asked simply, now beginning to hesitate in her presence. "You… you were like a sister to me…"

"Ahh…" Cynthia said quietly, "Poor, poor Miri doesn't understand…" She shook her head, locking her eyes onto Jordan's "Let me explain, shall I?" She asked, "You see, Miri, it's all Jordan's fault."

Not moving her position, Miranda's eyes darted to Jordan for a moment, "What? I don't understand. What does _he_ have to do with any of this?"

Cynthia chuckled, "Let me tell you a story, Miranda." She began, "Once upon a time, I joined Cerberus. Remember Miri? You found me on the Citadel over a year ago…"

Miranda nodded, "You contacted a known Cerberus agent on the Citadel, demanding to speak with the Illusive Man." She recalled.

"Yes, that's right. Then, long story short, I sat down with Timmy and joined Cerberus. You taught and trained me… and that's when this year began. 2183…" She said, pausing, "That was when everything went to shit!" She yelled that last part.

Jordan shook his head, "That's not true! The Geth and I have saved countless lives!"

"Shut up!" She yelled, "I wasn't talking to you, Avatar!"

"What is that?" Miranda finally asked, "An Avatar?"

Cynthia smiled and nodded, "Good question, Miri. I am. And so is that bastard beside you." She said with a frown upon mentioning Jordan, before it returned as she spoke, "An Avatar is gifted with great power and knowledge and all sorts of other BS." She explained, "Our respective goals are to bring about our designated destinies of the Galaxy against the Reapers."

"Wh-what?" She asked, completely confused now, "What does that mean? You knew about the Reapers?"

She laughed, "Of course I did. I'm glad you're paying attention."

Jordan shook his head, "You're lying." He said, "That's not who I am."

"That's because you're not following your destiny, as fucking stupid as yours is." She turned back to Miranda, "You see, Miri, my destiny is to take control of the Reapers, much like Timmy here will try to do." She said, motioning towards him with her free hand.

"That won't work, Cynthia." Jordan cut in, "Controlling them just puts you in charge. The Reapers would live and there would certainly not be long-term peace."

"Ah, well, you see, that's where you're wrong." Cynthia tapped her head with her fingers, "There won't ever be peace in the Galaxy, regardless of the ending…" She admits, "That is, unless, there's someone maintaining the peace."

Jordan's eyes widened, "You…"

Seemingly reading his mind, she nodded with a smirk, "Exactly. I'm glad you're not as dull as I thought. With the Reapers under my control, I can keep the peace… forcefully if need be. _THAT_ is the only, true solution to the inevitability of war."

Miranda shook her head, "And this?" She asked, using her head to motion towards Cynthia, "What does this have to do with any of that?"

"Well, you see, I was just getting to that, Miri."

"Stop calling me that!" She demanded.

"Touchy, touchy… Anyway, Timmy, here, was supposed to do all sorts of amazing and stupid things, which would inevitably lead to him becoming indoctrinated. Using this, I'd easily get access to the Crucible and take control of the Reapers. Now, though…" She glared at Jordan, "Thanks to _him_ , Jack, here, was warned against becoming indoctrinated."

The Illusive Man spoke up, "You would doom humanity, just because of some messiah complex?" He asked, struggling to speak.

She glared down at him, "Shut it, Timmy. The only reason you're still alive is because killing you right now will change far too much! You're supposed to get indoctrinated anyway. Jordan wasn't supposed to tell you anything!"

"That's a good thing!" Jordan yelled out, his anger rising now, too.

"NO, IT'S NOT!" She shouted, enraged, "YOU'VE EFFECTIVELY RUINED MASS EFFECT 3!" She nearly screamed, "All of our knowledge will be useless! Shepard isn't even guaranteed to follow the script anymore!"

"Shepard is dead," Miranda replied.

Cynthia chuckled, "Not for long… which leads me to point B, Miri. You see, you're the one who's supposed to bring him back, meaning I can't just kill you and use Cerberus myself. I can't bring him back, but you can!"

Jordan smirked, "That's why you made the Illusive Man say to take Miranda alive." He realized.

"Yes, but you aren't needed, and I've had just about enough of you." She finally said.

Jordan smirked, "So, is this the part of the game where you finish your evil, demented dialogue, right before you attack?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.

Anger flashed within Cynthia's, "I'm not crazy!" She demanded, "And I'm certainly not evil! I'm the only one smart enough to realize that change ISN'T a good thing!"

"So, you done wasting time?" He asked, "Because you're obviously not going to kill the Illusive Man right now."

"You're right, it seems like I am wasting time." She said with a smile, "Miranda, please relieve Jordan of his weapon."

"Wait, wh-?"

Two shots rang out as Jordan's Mattock was stuck with one, sending it flying from his hands, and the other hit his shoulder, twisting his torso slightly and dropping his shields. He turned with a wide-eyed expression towards the origin of the shots.

Miranda stood in a firing position, her M-5 Phalanx smoking. Her eyes, however, were filled with a never-before-seen terror in them. "J-Jordan…" She tried to speak, her arms moving to aim the weapon at Jordan's head, "I… I can't…" He could see wisps of dark blue energy circling her, dancing along her armor and skin.

Jordan gulped, body tensing as the barrel was pressed against his head. Cynthia grinned, both of her hands now clenched into fists as she controlled both her and TIM.

Jordan frowned, his hands going up slowly in surrender, "What now? You're going to take control of Cerberus? That still changes quite a few things…" Jordan said, trying to buy himself time to think of a way out of this mess.

Shaking her head, Cynthia replied, "Oh ye of little faith." She began, "With enough time in my presence, both Tim and Miri will be back to the way they should be. Under my new leadership, I'll forcefully maintain the course on which things were supposed to go. Miranda will go get and revive Shepard, the Reapers will invade, Cerberus will try to 'fight' Shepard with the Reapers, and boom, there's the Control ending."

"You… aren't making any… bloody sense." Miranda managed, "Ending? Maintain course? Is this… just a game to you?"

She shook her head, "Don't worry your pretty little head, Miri. You wouldn't understand anyway…"

"I think it's pretty simple." Jordan cut her off, "While we're having story time, why don't we explain the nature of reality to them?" While he spoke, he silently and mentally worked with his omni-tool, trying to prepare a massive overload. If he could incapacitate Miranda, then he'd have one less person to worry about, and then he could focus on Cynthia.

Shaking her head, "You really are stupid, aren't you Jordan? You think explaining any of this would help them out? No, it'd just break them."

_Beep. You've received a new message, marked as urgent._

Jordan silently read the message in his head, unable to hold back the grin that grew on his face after reading it. He replied silently immediately: _'Yes please.'_

Cynthia stared at Jordan in annoyance, "What's got you so happy, Jordan? You think you've got a way out of this?" She asked, rolling her eyes, "There's no escaping fate, Jordan. You refuse to accept your purpose given to you… you didn't even deserve coming here if you can't just commit…"

That's when a bright beam of light entered through the massive window wall behind her, blinding Jordan and Miranda due to their positioning, forcing them to use their hands to shield their eyes. The stereo system within the 'throne room' was hacking immediately.

_"Illusive Man. You are to release Sower-Ambassador immediately, or we will destroy Cronos Station. You have ten earth-standard minutes to comply."_

Using the distraction to his advantage, Jordan rolled to the side, towards Miranda as he fired the Overload. Her armor's shields shorted out and she was tackled to the floor in a heartbeat, catching her completely off-guard. On instinct, her barriers came up to compensate for the shield loss. Before she could react and push him off, she felt some sort of weapon's barrel make contact with her breastplate, gliding easily past her barriers.

She was unable to see much of anything thanks to the bright beams of light, but she could hear perfectly well. "Sorry, Miranda. I know it's not your fault, but it's for your own good." Jordan said quickly, just as the Arc Projector fired, frying every component of her suit of armor and forcing her into a temporary state of paralysis.

"Enough!" Cynthia shouted. Three shots rang out, piercing Jordan's shields with the first two and the third hitting his shoulder. The Illusive Man sat in shock as he'd pulled the trigger, all on Cynthia's whim. Walking away from TIM, she approached Jordan, biotically sealing him in a stasis.

She looked him dead in the eyes, "I figured your Geth friends knew about this place!" She admitted, "You really think a small distraction like that is enough to incapacitate Miranda AND kill me?"

Jordan shook his head, "I don't know, I'm not much of a fighte- AHH!" Jordan interrupted himself as another bullet entered his right leg, Cynthia holding the Phalanx that Miranda had only a moment ago. "Fuck…" He cursed, internally commanding his armor to deploy a dose of medigel.

"This time, you'd better die and stay dead." She said, pulling together her biotic energy into her fist. That's when she flew off of Jordan.

Miranda panted, holding her hand out as she laid on the ground, having thrown Cynthia off of Jordan while she was distracted and no longer under Cynthia's control. "You… bitch!" She said, grabbing the Shuriken from her back and standing up slowly.

Cynthia rolled a few times on the ground before pushing up, using her momentum to land on her feet. "Fuck it, if I have to kill both of you, I'll manage!" She raged, pulling her biotic energy back into a pull, lifting Jordan off his feet.

"Whoa…" He said, deploying his Geth Shield Boost immediately in case of an attack in his vulnerable state. Using Jordan as a diversion, Miranda fired her M-4 at Cynthia. In need of cover, she responded by pulling up the floor around her, much like Kai Lang did in ME3.

Now taking cover, Cynthia, used a Throw, sending Jordan flying towards the wall, but Miranda intercepted him with her own biotics, saving him from an uncomfortable impact. Jordan hit the ground and grabbed his M-3 from his hip, firing at Cynthia. "It's over Cynthia!"

That's when she was wreathed in biotic energy, the aura around her warping and distorting. Jordan only had time to think one word, before he went flying once more, 'Shit.' Biotically Charging into Jordan, Cynthia's shields replenished instantly, sending Jordan flying with a few rounds from her M-5 after him, draining his shields with the combo.

'Overload', he thought as he extended his hand, firing one off shortly before impacting the wall, once again reducing Cynthia's shields to nothing. "Dammit!" She yelled, pulling up more of the floor around her for cover.

"Miranda, we need to do something!" He called out, "This isn't working!"

"I can see that!"

That's when it hit him. A stupid idea. A crazy idea. Suicidal, even, if it didn't work out as he planned. He didn't have enough combat experience or strength to outlast Cynthia. He needed to play dirty, and as crazy as his small idea was, it just might work for him. Double checking the programs and u[date from Grimlock to see if everything was ready, he smiled lightly for a moment before becoming serious. 'This could either be really bad or really good...', he thought.

"Barrier me!" He called out.

"What?"

"Give me a barrier. I need more protection if I'm going to serve as the distraction." He reasoned, yelling out towards Miranda with no

"Are you insane?"

"Just do it!" A moment later, he could feel the biotic energy flowing around him, overriding his shields as a biotic barrier set in its place.

Cynthia smirked, immediately entering a biotic charge towards Jordan, hitting him hard. Just as in the games, his barriers were decimated by the charge, draining them fully and breaking into Jordan's armor. Thanks, however, to the presence of the barrier and shields, he remained in place and wasn't sent flying this time. Unfortunately for him, Cynthia took this opportunity to grab him, holding him in place by the throat with one hand, her strength biotically enhanced. Her other hand was in use as well, holding the other two in temporary stasis for the time being, so as not to interrupt them.

Miranda, on the other hand, immediately gained a migraine from the exertion of her biotics and the immediate shutdown of her generated barrier. She'd never done that kind of biotic technique before, making it all the more strenuous. It also didn't help things that Cynthia's control over her earlier had drained her energy as well when she tried to resist it.

She shook her head, mildly amused, "Guess you never played Vanguard, did you Jordan?" She asked, holding him with one hand by the throat, her other hand glowing with biotic energy, preparing to drop the statis in a heartbeat and warp Jordan from the inside-out.

"I… I did in Andromeda…" He admitted, struggling in her hand.

"Figures…" She rolled her eyes, "Don't you know? Charges deal 1.5 times more damage against barriers. You practically invited me over here."

"I know…" he said, activating the new, prototype software Grimlock had given him back on the Citadel. She only had the chance to begin looking down, before the software sprang to life.

Jordan's omni-tool powered on visually, tinted the color green as his entire body began to glow the same shade. As if in slow motion, a green hard-light construct formed over his omni-tool in the shape of a dual-pronged blade; electricity arced between the two 'prongs'. It slid 180 degrees, piercing Cynthia's chest as he thrust his arm forward immediately.

"Gahh!" She said, staring down at the blade in her chest. "Ah- AHhh…" She coughed out a bit of blood onto Jordan's chest, dropping Jordan as the omni-blade dissipated, leaving a hole in its place. The two of them fell to the floor together. Jordan breathed deeply after coughing, while Cynthia simply coughed, trying to breathe, period. Her biotics instantaneously failed, releasing The Illusive Man and Miranda from both their stasis and her control.

Sickness filled Jordan's chest as he realized what he'd done, despite everything. He'd 'killed' Heretic Geth… He'd killed faceless Cerberus troopers… He'd killed Reaper troops, if those were considered alive… but now he'd killed someone else. Someone from his world… up close and personal. Why couldn't she have worked with him?

Jordan looked over at Cynthia, who forced a painful chuckle, "Heh heh… guess you're the sup… *Cough* superior Avatar, Jordan…" She admitted, "And you didn't even… didn't even accept it…"

Jordan shook his head, "I'm sorry." He said, "M-maybe I can use medigel..."

She shook her head, "No… I'm just… tired…" She admitted, frowning. She forced herself to half sit-up, looking at Jordan, "I've been here for over a year now… maybe now… maybe now, I can go home?" She asked, hopeful.

"I hope so." Jordan replied, "I want to go home too…"

"You know… I was… just a teacher…." She admitted between breaths, looking up at the ceiling, "I just wanted to mean something… you know?"

"I was just a college student." He replied quietly.

"N-no… no shit?" She smiled, laying herself back down all the way, "Do me a favor… Jordan? Don't trust the Catalyst…" She said, meeting his eyes carefully, "This whole thing… this never felt right…" She said, taking a harsh breath, "Control… it did something to me…" She turned to Miranda, who was eyeing her cautiously, "Miranda… I'm... sorry…" She barely finished.

Her body began to glow a light, soft blue, before increasing dramatically in brightness. A biotic-like pulse echoed from her body, as a flash of blue exploded from her. As the light subsided, only her body remained, her previously unnatural blue eyes were a more-natural hazel color now, opened and unmoving.

Cynthia Wake was dead.

* * *

**Profile Installation Complete: Cynthia Wake**

Cynthia Wake, age of twenty-nine, is a high school teacher, who'd taught at a private high school for a few years as the primary science teacher. She had hazel eyes and short, blonde hair. A science-fiction fan and low-key gamer girl at heart, she thoroughly enjoyed the Mass Effect universe, though was let down somewhat by Mass Effect Andromeda.

During her original playthrough of the series, she played as a Paragon female Shepard, with a Colonial background, experience as the hero of Elysium, and the biotic prowess of a Vanguard. She saved the Rachni queen, left Ashely to die, saved the Council, and went for Kaiden for her romance option. She couldn't put the series down, and as soon as she had her hands on ME2, she played through it as well, all DLC installed. Leaving no one to die on the Collector Base, she decided to spare the base, as there was merit to TIM's reasoning. She'd loved the exploration of Cerberus, and pursued a relationship with Garrus in ME2.

ME3 rolled around, and she continued her journey. Cerberus turned bad, Kaiden didn't trust her, and the Reapers were invading. Long story short, she regained Kaiden's trust and returned to a relationship with him, feeling kinda bad about Garrus. The DLC and story went by, even managing to save the Geth and Quarians from their war. When the battle for Earth finally arrived, Cortez died, before she lost Kaiden and Garrus to Harbinger.

That's when the Catalyst came. She'd lost her love, and she listened to the options before her, finally reasoning with the Control ending. The Illusive Man was right, even if he did fall to the Reapers. Control was the key, but not to humanity's advancement. It was the answer to peace. With control of the Reapers, repairs across the Galaxy would happen more quickly, and she could even maintain the peace if she had to.

She chose Control on her first playthrough.

_Yes, this profile will do nicely. She would be my best hope as an Avatar of Control._

_Confirmed. Load Profile._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cynthia Wake's class and information:
> 
> Cynthia Wake: Avatar of Control
> 
> Class Description: Subconsciously, Cynthia releases pulses of quantum-level energy, affecting those around her in subtle ways, eventually making others feel safer and more secure in her presence. She can easily build trust and almost put people into her own form of 'enthrallment'. However, like other forms of 'mind control', the subjects can be broken free under the right circumstances OR if her presence is removed from them long-term. Herself, she is immune to all forms of mind control.
> 
> Power 1: Pull
> 
> Power 2: Throw
> 
> Power 3: Stasis
> 
> Power 4: Biotic Charge
> 
> Avatar Power: Dominate and Control
> 
> Dominate and Control: Forcibly takes control of those under their 'enthrallment' or physically and mentally weak, bending them fully to their will. (Extremely similar to what TIM can do on the Crucible, but perfected and more refined.)


	17. Chapter 14: What Now?

** Chapter 14: What Now? **

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station, TIM's Inner Sanctum.**

**March 6th, 2183. 6:00 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

Standing up slowly, Jordan turned to look away from the body. Meeting the Illusive Man's gaze, he slowly approached the man.

Said man, who'd only been held captive minutes prior to now, did his best to reestablish his air of superiority and confidence, smoothing out his suit and placing the pistol in his hand onto the chair's arm, replacing it with a new cigarette. He placed it into his mouth with slightly shaking hands, before it fell onto the floor in surprise at the interruption.

 _"We repeat! We will destroy Cronos Station unless Sower-Ambassador is returned to us!"_ A synthesized voice repeated once more over the station's loudspeakers.

Fiddling with his Omni-tool, Jordan brought up his communications and spoke into his omni-tool, "Hold fire! I'm alright, I just need a little bit of time." He replied.

The speakers station-wide responded immediately, _"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador. Awaiting."_

Jordan breathed out a sigh of relief, having avoided another immediate crisis, just as Miranda fully regained most of her composure, walking over a bit to stand partially between the Illusive Man and Jordan. Grabbing another cig and lighting it, TIM took a drag, calming his nerves and breathing out a puff of smoke, before speaking.

"Jordan Sower. I believe a conversation is necessary." He said simply, his voice regaining its confidence.

Nodding, Jordan responded, "Yes, Illusive Man." He motioned towards Cynthia's body without looking at it, "I believe I just took care of one of your problems." He almost flinched at how harsh that sounded aloud.

"And yet are also responsible for my current one." He replied smoothly, meaning the Geth armada now sitting outside his station, "I'm not even going to ask how you or they knew about this place. Let's start with discussing how we can make this problem go away."

Jordan nodded, "I think my release into their custody is non-negotiable."

"Of course. I can have a shuttle ready to depart at any time." He replied quickly, "You're more than free to go after the… unpleasant experience with Miss Wake."

"Sir?" Miranda asked, stunned, "We can't just let him walk away after all of this."

He raised an eyebrow, "And do what, Miss Lawson? Hold him here with the Geth parked outside. He may be important to them, but I sincerely doubt the Geth would hesitate to destroy this facility if we refuse to release him." He informed her, "If our situations were reversed, I'd do the same thing, and they're rational synthetics."

Jordan wanted to say he was wrong… but he couldn't. As much as he meant to the Geth, as important as he seemed to be, they already had all of his knowledge of the games. They might not prefer to, but they could get by without him if push came to shove.

Miranda finally nodded, "I… I understand, sir."

"Good." He nodded towards her, "Now, Mister Sower, as much as I know you'd like to be on your merry way with your Geth, I'd like to speak with you on another matter."

Jordan nodded, looking down at the floor and noticing the cigarette the Illusive Man had dropped. He DID look sophisticated when he smoked… Picking it up, Jake Harper raised his eyebrow once more, "A light?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

He took a step forward and extended his arm towards TIM, who lit it using an old-fashioned lighter. Not having done this before, Jordan put it in his mouth and lightly inhaled.

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

Jordan coughed violently, the burning cancer stick hitting the ruined floor as he tried to regain his breath. The Illusive Man's mouth twitched into a small smirk as he took another drag. Jordan could have sworn Miranda had a smirk for a split-second, but he couldn't be sure, as his eyes were too busy watering.

"Damn, how the hell do you smoke those?"

The Illusive Man shook his head, "I'll admit, they're a bit strong." He cleared his throat, "Anyway, I wish to discuss a future partnership… with your abilities and knowledge, you could greatly impact Cerberus's future. A brighter future for humanity."

Jordan smiled lightly. He knew what he had to do, "I'm going to have to turn you down right now, sir."

He seemed slightly surprised, but barely showed it, "Oh? Right now, then?" He asked, catching that.

Jordan nodded, "I know about Project Lazarus." He started, "When it succeeds… when Shepard's about ready to wake up, send me a message. I'll be willing to work with you then."

TIM slowly nodded, "Your knowledge continues to surprise me, Sower." He admitted, "How do you propose I contact you, hypothetically speaking, that is?"

"Send a message into Geth space. Aim for Rannoch. They'll let me know."

"Very well, Sower. We'll inform you. I look forward to our future partnership." He said, extending a hand towards him.

Jordan took it, shaking hands, "As do I, Jack."

After the handshake, the Illusive Man pressed a button on his chair, "Attention all personnel." He began, "My previous announcement is to be disregarded. Miranda Lawson is a trusted operative, and Jordan Sower is no longer a prisoner here. It was simply a training exercise. Prep a shuttle in hanger bay 12-B for Mister Sower within ten minutes. That is all."

He then looked up, locking eyes with Jordan, "You're free to go, Mister Sower. For your actions today, and as per our agreement, you are considered an ally of Cerberus. However, remember that all partnerships work both ways. Your Geth stay out of Cerberus business, and my Cerberus operatives will stay out of Geth business. Is that clear?"

Jordan nodded, "Crystal clear, Illusive Man."

"Good. Return to the elevator and take it down to floor 7. There will be a Centurion waiting there to escort you to the shuttle."

"Thank you."

And with that, Jordan turned and left, leaving the Illusive Man and Miranda Lawson alone in his office. His, now, ruined and devastated office, that is. As soon as the door closed behind him, the Illusive Man sighed, slouching slightly in his chair as he took another drag of his cig.

"Miss Lawson, prepare Cronos Station for departure. We're leaving Anadius."

"Of course, sir. What about the Geth?"

"Let them go. Engaging them will only provoke them into attacking. Now is the time for caution."

"And Sower?"

"We'll keep an eye on him. If everything works out, he'll be back when your project succeeds. Then, we can worry about what he knows… as long as he remains in our good graces."

"Understood." She paused, looking hesitantly towards Cynthia's body, "And her, sir?"

"I want to know everything, Miss Lawson. How she took control of us. What she might have meant by Avatar. Her biotic prowess. Everything, down to her last nucleotide and protein." He finally said, "See if any of it is implementable and usable. She might have nearly ended us, but she might very well hold the key to our future."

She nodded, "Yes sir." She replied, turning around and leaving through the same exit Jordan had used moments prior.

He finally frowned once alone, surveying his room. It'd definitely have to be remodeled. Reaching for his glass, he remembered its shattered state on the ground. Such a waste of perfectly good whiskey. Sighing, he stood up, getting one last good look at Anadius. It has been the home of Cronos station since its construction… and now it will be yet another unimportant, unmarked star on the galaxy's star maps, void of anything of remote interest.

He swiped his hand at one of the holograms nearby, connecting with someone else on board.

"Jana, I'm going to need another glass."

_"Of course, sir. I'm on it."_

What a damn mess…

* * *

**Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station, Bay 12-B.**

**March 6th, 2183. 6:30 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)**

"So, I just get in it?"

The Centurion sighed in his muffled, distorted voice, "Yes. For the tenth time, just get in the shuttle and it'll take you where you want to go."

"Like an autopiloting VI?"

"Yes."

"And there are no tricks in this one, right?"

"No. Why would there be a- you know what, nevermind. I don't want to know."

"Just saying, autopilot VIs tend to betray me."

"Look." The Centurion said, growing quickly annoyed, "Just get in the damn shuttle and leave with your stupid Geth already."

Jordan paused, remaining silent for a moment as he took in the Cerberus Shuttle next to him. "Ok… but what about the IFF system?"

"Oh, for the love of… Get in the damn shuttle already!"

"Ok, ok. Jeez…" Jordan put his hands up in surrender, stepping into the provided shuttle. "So, what now?"

If Jordan could see the Centurion's face, he'd see a very angry, annoying, and frustrated man, "Tell the VI where to go. Like, per say, outside of the fuckin' station?"

"Oh, that's what I thought… thanks!"

"I don't get paid enough for this shit…" The Centurion muttered just loud enough for Jordan to hear as the shuttle door closed.

Jordan shook his head in amusement as he climbed into the cockpit, "Ok, computer-VI-thing, take me outside."

 _"Of course, sir."_ It replied evenly in a synthetic tone. Jordan felt the shuttle start up after a moment of wait time, before it propelled itself forward, leaving the station behind and entering the cold vacuum of space. Looking out through the camera and simulated windows, Jordan could see exactly why the Illusive Man was anxious to get him out of there.

Parked right outside was an entire fleet of dozens, maybe even over a hundred Geth Ships, with one of the Juggernauts sitting there amidst the fleet. An entire Geth Fleet had come for him. He was touched.

He looked down at his arm, bringing up the actual interface for his omni-tool as he opened a communications channel with the juggernaut, "Geth Juggernaut, this is Jordan. I'm aboard a Cerberus shuttle."

The reply came immediately, _"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador. We have you located. Prepare to be picked up."_

The man in question only had to wait another two minutes before he felt the shuttle shake as it entered what was probably the Geth Dreadnaught. Only another moment or two went by, before the shuttle door opened automatically, allowing Jordan to see outside of the tiny, Cerberus Shuttle.

Standing within this hanger-like room was a single, familiar looking Geth unit, wearing its unique identifier of N7 armor as a patch in its damaged platform. Jordan stepped off of the shuttle with a huge smile on his face, "LEGION!" He said, ecstatic.

Legion nodded, the unique flaps around his head twitching in what was likely amusement, "Sower-Ambassador."

"So, this is the Dreadnaught?" Jordan asked, motioning around the room.

"Affirmative. We have accommodated your presence by establishing a breathable atmosphere within this room." It informed him. "Warning. The rest of the ship contains conditions not suitable for organic presence without an enviro-suit."

"So, I'm stuck in this room until we reach Rannoch?"

"Yes."

"And you're here to keep me company?"

"Yes."

"Cool." Jordan said, staring at the N7 armor, "What's the story behind that?" He asked, motioning towards it.

"There was a hole."

Jordan rolled his eyes, "Yes, I can tell. I mean why was there a hole?"

"An organic put it there."

"Ok, now you're just being difficult."

"Yes."

"Guess some of Grimlock's code rubbed off on you..." Jordan whispered to himself as he shook his head in amusement, crossing his arms, "Let's start with the whole story, ok? You knew what was going to happen thanks to my memories, so what happened?"

Legion straightened his posture and placed his hands behind his back, mimicking a standing position similar in stance to Thane, "We arrived on Eden Prime to search the area after Shepard-Commander was there. Notice. We believe we had detected the resting place of Prothean-Javik."

Jordan rubbed his chin, "Yeah, I'd love to wake him up now, but we don't really have access to Eden Prime. Not to mention he wouldn't be thrilled to wake up and be surrounded by Synthetics."

"Affirmative. According to your data, Prothean-Javik is against all Synthetics, favoring our destruction at the hands of the Creators."

Jordan patted Legion's shoulder, "Don't worry Legion, that won't happen. And I'm sure Shepard will turn him around in due time." Jordan tried reassuring him, "So, what happened next."

"We stayed hidden, avoiding encounters with the local populations."

"What about after Eden Prime?"

"We followed in Shepard-Commander's footsteps. We first went to Noveria, discovering evidence of the Rachni Queen's escape at Peak 15."

"Yes!" Jordan cheered, "I knew he was a Paragon. So, after Noveria?"

"We went to Feros. There, we discovered the remains of the Thorian. We took samples for future study, before incinerating the body."

"Smart." Jordan remarked, "What will the samples be used for?"

"We believe there are similarities between Thorian Enthrallment, Indoctrination, and Leviathan Enthrallment. We believe we could produce a temporary solution to resisting these forms of control for organics."

"Wait, like a cure? A cure for indoctrination?"

"Negative. A close approximation would be like your flu vaccine." It informed him, "Projections show that use of this 'vaccine' could render the user temporarily immune to Indoctrination, but would wear off within a 48 galactic-standard hour cycle."

"Ok, not bad. That could be handy!"

"Affirmative."

"So, Eden Prime, Noveria, and Feros. What about Therum?"

"Facility on Therum was destroyed. Reminder. Molten rock renders both organic and synthetic platforms nonfunctional."

Jordan rolled his eyes again, "Yeah, yeah. Did you go to Virmire?"

"Negative. Virmire has undergone nuclear testing. Amendment. Other Geth platforms have recovered data on Virmire when they were present with Shepard-Commander."

"That's right, the Geth bailed them out. Why wasn't I told about this?"

"The Geth Collective only reached Consensus on intervening on Virmire after your capture by Shepard-Commander. Platform-designated Grimlock did not inform you on the Citadel due to a lack in time."

"Alright, I understand, I guess." Jordan admitted, "Did you guys go to Illos?"

"Affirmative. While Grimlock and its accompanying platforms went to the Citadel, this platform went to Illos. We communicated with VI-Construct Vigil. We have received a copy of the Citadel control code."

Jordan smirked, "In case we ever need to seize control of the Galactic capital?"

"No data available."

"Regardless, it's nice to have something like that just in case. Then, I assume you visited Alchera?"

"Affirmative. There, we located the remains of Shepard-Commander's N7 armor, and used it to remedy the hole in our platform. His remains were no longer on planet."

"So those people had already grabbed it. Wait a moment, when did you get shot?"

"Before Alchera."

"Ok smartass, on what planet and why?"

"We were spotted by organics on Noveria. At Peak 15, this platform was attacked by Binary Helix employees during our departure."

"That's better. Wait, so you're telling me you were injured on Noveria, went to Feros, Illos, and Alchera like that, and THEN repaired yourself?"

"Yes."

"Will you PLEASE elaborate? You're doing this on purpose, aren't you Legion?" Jordan questioned, staring at the Geth carefully.

"No data available."

Jordan couldn't help but snort, shaking his head, "Whatever. So, let me summarize all of this, ok? You followed in Shepard's footsteps, verified the Rachni Queen is out there and alive, you collected Thorian samples to maybe make a vaccine for indoctrination, or at least study it, then at Illos, you got the Citadel Control data from Vigil, then, to wrap it all up, you went to Alchera and got a piece of Shepard's armor welded onto your platform to fix a hole that you collected way back on Noveria?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, tell me about my rescue," Jordan said, giving up on that line of questioning. At least the Geth seem to have been busy.

"The Geth watched the Extranet, and we saw the reports on the C-Sec attack and your subsequent capture. We reasoned that there was an 86.72% probability that you'd be taken to Cronos Station, orbiting Anadius. The plan was to destroy Cronos Station in the event that they refused to return you."

"So… if they refused to release me… you'd kill everyone?"

"Your death would be regrettable, but your sacrifice would lead to better outcomes."

"And what about Shepard? It'd be pretty hard for Project Lazarus to work with TIM dead, Miranda Lawson dead, and Cerberus in ruins."

"We had a contingency in the event of the cancelation of Project Lazarus. We would locate Shepard-Commander's body, and perform our own version of the project. Credits and funding are no issue for the collective."

"Great… well, at least you had everything planned out."

"Yes."

"I really _love_ your one-word answers, Legion," Jordan remarked sarcastically.

"Affirmative."

Jordan sighed, sitting down on the floor near Legion. "What about Grimlock? Did his… did his programs return to the Collective?"

"Yes."

"That's good." Jordan finally said. "So… what now?"

"We are en-route to Rannoch."

"Yeah, I figured that part out already. I mean, what are we going to do now, for the next two years while Shepard is being rebuilt?"

"We have plans in place."

"And…?"

"We will explain once we return to the Collective. It will be simpler to explain there."

"Alright. So, do I sleep in the shuttle or is there another bed anywhere on board."

"Geth have no need for bedrooms and beds. They are a waste of space."

"Yeah… that's what I figured." Jordan said with a frown, "Well, I'm tired from all the attempts on my life recently, so I think I'm just going to sleep until we make it to Rannoch. Wake me up when we get there."

"Affirmative. Have a pleasant rest, Sower-Ambassador."

Jordan nodded, waving towards Legion as he returned to the Shuttle, laying down across several of the seats as he tried to make himself as comfortable as possible in the Shuttle. Still had quite a while until they arrived.

Yeah, maybe things will work out… eventually… maybe…

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Orbiting Rannoch, Geth Station 25, Chamber 87.**

**March 8th, 2183. Evening on Rannoch.**

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Jordan said with a grin as he stood back in chamber 87 of the Geth Station. He could see and feel the code and programs around him as his consciousness reconnected to the Collective thanks to his organic-synthetic makeup.

"Welcome back, Sower-Ambassador."

"Thanks for rescuing me." Jordan said, scratching his neck awkwardly, "You know, again…"

"It is no problem, Sower-Ambassador. Now, we have much work to do."

Jordan nodded, "That's what I hear. So, I assume work on your fleets has continued as projected?"

"Yes. Our current projections indicate we may have three Dreadnaughts by the time Shepard-Commander is awake."

"That's amazing! And you're taking into account the way that Shepard was able to gain access to it and take down the shields from the inside?"

"Affirmative. More fail-safes and external monitoring devices have been put into place. At Platform-designated Grimlock's request, we have implemented a limited number of small windows for platforms to watch for stealth ships with."

"Ooooooohhhh, Cynthia would have been pissed at that." Jordan said, "I'm starting to think that the Geth fleet is going to be the strongest power in the entire Galaxy!"

"That is something we wanted to discuss, Sower-Ambassador. Will you relay to us what had occurred in your absence? We have received only small data bursts about this 'Cynthia Wake'. Please explain."

Jordan nodded, "That seems fair. So, I discovered that Cynthia Wake was the Avatar of Control, just like how I'm the Avatar of Synthesis."

"Intriguing."

Nodding, Jordan brought up the holographic representation of his memories within the digital landscape, sharing with the Collective what had occurred in C-Sec custody with Cynthia, "She showed up with Cerberus, blaming me for everything we've changed and many things I haven't."

"Such as the Leviathans?" The Collective asked, displaying the footage Grimlock had recorded in Udina's office.

"Precisely. That wasn't me, and by her admission, it wasn't her. Later on, she revealed she was the Avatar of Control." He continued, the memory swapping to her interrogation on Cronos Station. It progressed until the point the 'controlling aura' radiated off of Cynthia, controlling Miranda. "She showed the ability to actually directly control other individuals, just like the Illusive Man does on the Crucible."

The Collective was mostly silent as they took this in.

Jordan continued with a frown, "Which leads me to the most important point, right now. I believe, based on the evidence gathered so far, that there's another Avatar out there, representing the Destroy option."

"An Avatar of Destruction." The Geth called the individual. "Yes, logic points to a third party being involved in all of this. And if Cynthia-Operative was another Avatar, then chances are there is a third one as well. Your logic is sound, Sower-Ambassador."

"Yes, one for each of the three major choices. The three ways the face of the Galaxy could be changed with the Crucible." He looked directly at the majority of the Geth programs, "This Avatar, regardless of intentions, is a threat to you. All of you!" He claimed, "If Destroy is chosen, it would mean the end of the Geth. The end of all Synthetics."

"Then what is your plan for the Crucible."

"I… I don't know. Control isn't an option. I don't want to become another Catalyst. Destroy isn't an option, because it would kill you guys and probably even me since I'm half synthetic. And synthesis isn't an option either. I'm not forcing that on anyone who doesn't want it."

"There is no other option given within the games if you use the Crucible."

Jordan nodded, "I know… but what if more research is done?" Jordan suddenly said, "What if a fourth or fifth option could be found. I mean, the Crucible wasn't really studied. Its plans were found and construction began immediately. If we could get the plans, maybe study them a year in advance, maybe we could find another option."

"This seems possible. We will reach a consensus on this matter in the future, as soon as possible. However, we have another issue to discuss."

Jordan could almost feel what they were about to say, "Wait, wait, wait. No. I'm fine. I don't need any-…"

"Sower-Ambassador, we gathered passive readings from your omni-tool during your conflict with Wake-Operative." The Collective admitted, "You still need to finish your training."

"Dammit. Fine! Alright, fine, I'll do it."

"We would like you to stay on Rannoch until you finish your training. We cannot chance your capture by another party. Especially if that other party consists of this 'Avatar of Destruction'."

Jordan sighed, "Alright… I guess now would be as good of a time as any to start training."

"Affirmative. Platforms designated Legion and Grimlock will accompany you back to Rannoch to continue your training."

"Wait… Grimlock?!" Jordan spun around as quickly as he could, coming face-to-synthetic-face with a newly constructed Geth Juggernaut, complete with the Autobot symbols on its shoulder pads and its name written across its chest.

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador," Grimlock replied.

Jordan cheered, "YES!"

Grimlock nodded, as if it were an organic, "It is time to train, Sower-Ambassador."

"UUUhhhhhgggggg… fine!" Jordan groaned.

"Good luck, Sower-Ambassador. We will be in contact." And with that, he was disconnected from the Collective. Guess he couldn't get away from training now. Damn, this was going to be a long several months!


	18. Chapter 15: The Year on Rannoch

** Chapter 15: The Year on Rannoch **

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Jordan's Abode.**

**March 10th, 2183. Mid-Afternoon on Rannoch**

_Make you glad you came._

_The sun goes down_

_The stars come out_

_And all that counts_

_Is here and now_

_My universe will never be the same_

_I'm glad you came_

_I'm glad you came_

Jordan couldn't help his smile as he closed his eyes moving to the music from his omni-tool despite his complete lack of any rhythm whatsoever.

"Sower-Ambassador, what is the point of this?" Grimlock asked, watching the Avatar curiously from the equivalent of a kitchen while Jordan danced nearby.

"There really isn't, Grimlock." He replied, "It's just fun."

"Fun. Enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure."

"Yeah, that's the definition, Grimlock."

"We do not understand." The Synthetic admitted, "This is an inefficient waste of time and energy with no practical purpose. There are no potential mates in the vicinity."

"It's an organic thing, Grimlock. You see, I could be outside training in this godforsaken heat… or, I could be in my little house, having fun in air-conditioned conditions, not dying of heatstroke." Jordan said, pausing his music as he turned towards him.

Legion simply watched this exchange curiously, remaining silent as he absorbed Jordan's information.

"C'mon, you should have some sort of insight into organic stuff. You know, with all my memories and everything that I've shared with you guys."

"Not enough data available."

"Hmmm… wait a moment…" Jordan said, his eyes widening, "Synthesis would help you understand." He turned toward both Geth platforms, "Has the Collective reached consensus on my Synthesis?" He asked them, "Am I permitted to share the gift yet?"

Both of them remained silent for a few moments, as they were likely communicating with the Collective.

Legion finally spoke up before Grimlock, "The Collective has reached consensus. We do not know enough about Synthesis and its consequences to be willing to accept it yet."

"What about a test run?" Jordan asked.

Before Legion could try to explain that further testing and scenarios should be run first, Grimlock interrupted, "We volunteer to test Synthesis."

Jordan's eyes sparkled with happiness, "Grimlock, you trust me that much?"

Grimlock turned its head and made eye-contact with Jordan. "Yes." It answered simply.

Legion nodded, its flaps readjusting to show some semblance of acknowledgment, "The Geth Collective finds this acceptable. Platform-designated Grimlock, in the event of your disconnection from the Collective, you are to give bi-daily reports." It relayed.

"Affirmative. We find these conditions acceptable."

"You may proceed, Sower-Ambassador," Legion said, indefinitely recording the event for study.

"Alright…" Jordan said, stepping forward, within hugging distance of Grimlock. He had no idea how to do this. Correction, he had some sort of vague idea on how to do this, but he'd never used his abilities in such a way. "Let me try…" He reached both hands forward, gripping Grimlock's shoulders firmly as he closed his eyes, "…This…?"

He concentrated, feeling the synthetic nerves within his body kick into overdrive, heating up in a single heartbeat. He could almost feel the green light making its way out of every inch of Jordan's body, centering the gathering energy around his hands. Suddenly, he was in!

He could feel the wiring and software within Grimlock's platform. Every single last one of the Geth programs within the platform was visible to Jordan in this state… but they were decreasing. Dying! Oh shit, what was happening!? No, wait, not dying… not decreasing… merging? No, not quite, but it's close enough. Jordan felt his power flow from him entering Grimlock's systems, both hardware and software, changing all of it. Countless organic-like pieces of code and hardware began to manifest itself within the platform as the internal transformation continued.

Then, after what must have been close to ten minutes, Jordan opened his eyes, letting go of Grimlock as he took a step back. What he saw shocked him.

Grimlock looked down at Jordan, its red casing over its body was now crisscrossed with a labyrinth of green wiring, glowing harshly, before dimming to a much less noticeable level. It's optical 'eye' glowed green for a moment, before it's color returned to Grimlock's normal red color. Its optics zeroed in on Jordan as its head tilted slightly to the left.

He spoke, his voice less synthetic than it originally was, becoming a more unique voice, differentiating itself from other Geth platforms. "Sower-Ambassador… we… I…" He seemed to have an issue speaking his mind. Yet another organic trait he seemed to have gained.

Surprising Jordan, Grimlock bent down slightly, wrapping Jordan in a tight, yet gentle, hug. "W-whoa! Grimlock? Are you ok?"

"It's… I… It's so… weird?"

"Platform-designated Grimlock, status?" Legion asked, "The Collective has lost its connection to your platform."

Grimlock looked up, making optic-contact with Legion, "I am good, Legion." He replied with happiness evident in his synthetic voice, "I seem to be… I believe I am an independent intelligence now."

Jordan smiled, "Good for you, Grimlock! How's it feel to be your own intelligence? To be partially organic, I think."

"It is… new, Sower-Ambassador… Jordan. Yes, Jordan, it is a new experience."

Legion nodded, "This is a very interesting turn of events. Intelligence-Designated Grimlock, where do you stand with the Geth Collective?" Legion asked, the Collective definitely curious as to his allegiances now that he is no longer connected to them.

"I stand with Ambassador Jordan Sower and the Geth Collective." He answered proudly, straightening his posture, "I am ready to aid in any possible capacity. For my future and yours."

Legion nodded, "That is acceptable, and pleasing to hear."

Jordan smiled, patting Grimlock's back, "Now that you're yourself Grimlock, I need to teach you all about organics!" Jordan put a hand to his chin, "Hmm, where to start."

"Sower-Ambassador. What about the rest of your training today?" Legion asked.

"I believe Jordan expended a lot of energy during my transformation." Grimlock responded, "I request the Collective gives him the rest of the day since he has chosen to share this gift with us."

Jordan's eyes widened. He turned to Grimlock and mouthed, 'You're the best!'. This seemed to amuse Grimlock, if his dilating optic was any indication.

Legion went silent for a moment, probably relaying this information with the Collective. After a moment, its head flaps began to expand for a moment, before retracting, "We find this proposal acceptable. Based on preliminary data gathered, the Geth Consensus finds that sharing this gift with the Collective may be acceptable in the near future."

Jordan nodded, "Awesome. Thanks, Legion."

Legion seemed to hesitate for a moment, "Sower-Ambassador. We would like to say… thank you. For everything you've done for us." Jordan looked at the Geth platform curiously, "You could have gone to Shepard-Commander directly, or left to Cerberus or the Shadow Broker with your knowledge. However, you chose to come to us. To help us. We… we are forever in your debt."

Jordan felt a lump form in his throat, "Th-thanks Legion. You have no idea how much that means to me…"

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Jordan's Abode.**

**June 25th, 2183. Mid-Day on Rannoch**

Since his encounter with Cerberus and the defeat of Cynthia Wake, the Avatar of Control, Jordan had spent the last three-plus months on Rannoch training hard nearly every day in an attempt to prepare himself for the upcoming war against the Reapers.

He's still been utilizing the earlier software he'd been given by the Geth, as they'd promised to upgrade his arsenal of abilities and programs near the end of training, which was still a few months away. His accuracy in his power use and his weapons have drastically increased. In fact, he'd just recently finally learned the basics of sniper rifle usage. Sure, he still couldn't use the legendary Black Widow since it'd still blow out his shoulder, but still… he felt proud of himself.

The only other important events that had occurred over the last few months was he had returned to the Geth Station one other time to share the findings gathered by Grimlock AND to share his memories of his time on the Citadel and Cronos station with the Collective, which Grimlock connected to as well to learn.

At that point, which was two months prior, the Collective decided to increase their studies on the benefits of Synthesis. Right then and there, Jordan was asked to share the gift with a second Geth Platform, to which Legion volunteered, eager to feel the changes itself. While it was nice to have two fully (and perfectly) evolved AI constructs accompanying him, it led to two unintentional side effects.

The first one was the increase in the importance of the godforsaken training, as both Grimlock and Legion decided Jordan needed to not only be good in a fight but good enough to possibly even make Shepard's ground team if it came down to that.

The second one was far worse for Jordan. Thinking back to Cynthia's dying, clear-headed words, Jordan began to feel more and more homesick.

He sat in his home, staring out the window towards the nearby river. The day had overcast clouds in the sky, making it cooler than most days, which was exceptionally fortunate considering it was currently summer on Rannoch. He frowned, sighing as he looked out the window.

Grimlock was out and about right now, doing something important that he didn't feel he needed to tell Jordan about. Legion, on the other hand, sat in a nearby chair, watching Jordan curiously, especially after sighing.

"Sower-Ambassador, what is wrong?" He asked, worry clear in his tone. Ever since both Legion and Grimlock 'evolved' from Jordan's gift, they'd begun to show genuine emotions towards him, which was clearly evident in this case. Both of them referred to Jordan's Geth-given title fairly often, but would occasionally simply use his first name. Grimlock would do it far more often than Legion, though. It was simply a personality difference, another thing differentiating the newly evolved platforms from both each other and the Collective.

Jordan frowned, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "Legion… I miss my family." He admitted.

Legion focused his optics as he thought for a moment. Deciding that there wasn't much to lose, asked what he wanted to, trying to satisfy his curiosity. "Why?"

Jordan chuckled humorously, "I've been here for, what, almost seven months now, Legion."

"You've been on Rannoch for less than that." He responded before he realized what he meant, "You mean this universe?"

Jordan nodded sadly, "I haven't seen my family… my friends… anyone I knew for more than half a year. What happened to me, Legion?" He asked, looking down at his hands, "Do you think…" He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, "Do you think my family is looking for me? That they think I've gone missing. That maybe I'd been kidnapped or dead?" He could feel tears beginning to form, but fought them, "Do you think maybe I'm just a copy… a clone of myself, and my real self was found dead in my world? Did they already have a funeral for me?"

Legion didn't know how to exactly respond to that. He'd never experienced anything like what Jordan had. His family was the Geth, and had been with them since the beginning of their creation. He couldn't imagine, even with his new independence, leaving the Geth Collective for such a long period, without any sort of knowledge or communication with them.

"Tell me about them. You family." Legion finally said, hoping that talking about it might cheer him up.

Jordan smiled sadly, "Hehe… I had… sorry, have. I have two younger brothers. They were, damn were they annoying, but I loved them. We played together so often, hanging out. We'd always annoy and bother one another, but as the oldest, yeah, they annoyed me, but… they looked up to me, you know. Always wanted to hang out with their 'cool' older brother in college."

"They sound nice," Legion replied simply.

"Yeah… and my parents, they worked in public services, you know? Like paramedics and firefighters? They were busy at work on most days, but whenever they could, they'd take time off and we'd go camping or go see other family. My dad, he was always so funny, liked to joke around and prank us when he could. And mom? She made the greatest food in the world; took care of us. Nothing was better than her home cooking." He explained.

"You want to see them again," Legion responded.

A tear rolled down Jordan's cheek, "Y-yeah… my family was everything to me, Legion. They were my entire world… and I may never see them again."

Legion could feel the sadness emanating off of Jordan. He shouldn't be sad like this. Standing up, Legion walked over and gave Jordan a gentle hug, "Sower-Ambassador… Jordan…" he corrected, "If there is a way to let you go home, I promise to help you find it." He promised.

Jordan patted Legion's back, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself before speaking, "Thanks Legion. That means a lot, coming from you. You… you're a good friend."

"Sower-Ambassador, I believe we have a way to cheer you up," Legion said, standing straight up. Jordan arced an eyebrow at that.

"What?"

"Please, follow me," Legion said, motioning with his head towards the door. He was certainly picking up on organic movements and motions.

Jordan sighed, standing up from his seat, "Alright… hopefully, it won't be long. I was planning on watching the new Blasto movie. I know it's probably trash, but I just finished downloading it(illegally)."

Legion didn't reply audibly, simply motioning towards the door. Getting up and obeying, Jordan went to grab a coat in case of rain. He was currently wearing a new pair of jeans and a plain red t-shirt, which was smuggled aboard a Geth ship here for Jordan's use.

Grabbing the light raincoat and throwing it on, Jordan followed his friend out the door, leading him deeper into the city of Shelai. The entire power grid was up and running here, but he was the only organic actually living in the city.

The walk took about ten minutes, walking through town before arriving at some small building by another point on the riverside. Jordan shrugged as they approached it, not really knowing what was going on. Legion stopped by the door, allowing Jordan to go in first.

Jordan smirked, "How considerate of you, Legion." He remarked, opening the door and stepping inside. What he saw… it took his breath away.

There were colorful lights displayed throughout the mid-sized, single-room building, adding tons of color to the otherwise plain building. There were streamers and balloons filled with helium on the ceiling. The large table in the center of the room has another, colorful object: a tablecloth, with a small cake in the center. A large banner hung in the back of the room, reading ' _Happy Birthday Jordan!'_

Grimlock stood beside the vanilla-looking cake with green frosting, wearing a comically large chef's hat over his flashlight head. The room also had music playing, consisting of old, human rock music from his own time. That's when Legion came in from behind Jordan, standing in front of him, both he and Grimlock spoke nearly in sync.

"Happy Birthday Jordan."

Jordan was speechless. He froze, feeling his legs wobble from his emotions, tears threatening to return. "I… I don't… what?" He said, just above a whisper.

Grimlock replied, "When you gave the Collective all of the information about Mass Effect, several other pieces of information came along with it, including your birthday."

"We believed it would be appropriate to thank you. For our freedom and individuality. You've been nothing but selfless and trusting of us, despite our reputation." Legion continued, "And you seemed homesick, so we prepared a human-standard Birthday party for you."

Jordan slowly advanced, sitting down at one of the seats, "I don't… I don't know what to say…" He admitted, looking at both of his only real friends in this world, "Thank you, guys! Thank you so much!"

Grimlock took a step forward, his chef hat almost falling off before he caught it, readjusting it quickly, "I even prepared a levo-based vanilla cake. The ingredients were not easy to come by, but we made sure to get all of the right stuff."

Legion's flaps rose in amusement, "Grimlock almost put buttercups into the cake. He only stopped to double-check when he saw the price of purchasing those flowers."

Jordan laughed, genuinely feeling happy and touched by all of this, "That sounds like Undertale." He said, recalling that fun little game.

Grimlock shook his head, "As if that's the only thing that almost went wrong. Legion acquired 189 candles, and almost ruined my cake with them."

"Technically, he's turning 189 years old today in Earth-standard years." Legion countered.

"I only feel 24," Jordan replied. "If I was home, I'd only by turning 24… I think. God, it's so confusing now."

Grimlock nodded, using a hand to hold the hat in place while using another to motion towards Jordan, "See? SEE?! That's what I was saying."

Jordan laughed aloud, unable to stop for a few moments at the absurdity of the situation and conversation, forgetting all about his earlier case of the sadness. Legion and Grimlock seemed pleased by this.

Legion's flaps moved about in amusement again as he added, "And I've gotten you a great gift I know you'll like. Your training is canceled today!"

Jordan cheered, "Yeaaahhh!" He smiled, laughing some more, "You guys are the best!"

"I know," Grimlock replied shamelessly.

Jordan focused on the Geth's human-like chef's hat, "Grimlock… what's up with the hat?"

Grimlock looked at Jordan, his visor constricting in confusion, "What about it? Isn't it customary to wear such a hat during these festivities?"

He shook his head, "No, that's the stereotypical hat that chefs wear on Earth. Or, at least, they did in my time, I think. For parties, you wear party hats."

Grimlock looked up, grabbing the hat with both hands and looking at it carefully before shaking his head, "But I like this hat."

Jordan laughed again, "I won't make you take it off then, but I'd suggest not wearing it in battle."

"Or in training," Legion added.

"Fuck training!" Jordan replied immediately, but there was no anger or venom in his statement, "It's my freakin' birthday! Let's just eat cake and listen to awesome music!"

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, Quarian City of Shelai, Riverside.**

**January 11th, 2184. Mid-day on Rannoch**

"Hey, you know it's been a whole year since I first arrived at Rannoch?" Jordan asked, laying down on the sand, a few feet from the river as he looked up at the partly cloudy Rannoch sky.

Grimlock nodded, watching Jordan, "Affirmative." He replied simply, enjoying the peace and quiet with him.

Jordan stood up, stretching his lean, kinda muscular body. The last ten months of training had really changed Jordan. He didn't look beefed out like James Vega, or muscular like Shepard, but he'd definitely bulked up quite a bit from all of his work. Seems like all of that hard work had paid off. He was stronger and faster than he'd ever been in his life.

There was more, far more important, improvements too. He'd been practicing his 'Avatar Abilities' as well. Interacting with technology was going far more smoothly than previously. He can now actually interact with things without passing out or losing most of his energy. Sure, he could only do it a few times before his stamina fell to critical levels, but that was a huge improvement from previously. Some things, like heavily encrypted devices, were still a huge challenge for him, and a constantly evolving firewall generator, like an AI, would give him a real run for his money, but still… pretty nice.

He'd also gotten a considerable upgrade in his combat software within his omni-tool. His Overload has been upgraded into a Chain Overload, allowing the electrical pulse to jump to an additional enemy, even if it was out of sight of him. Talk about an increase in quality of life!

His Geth Shield Boost became 'improved', basically now an Improved Geth Shield Boost, allowing his weapons to use the increase in Mass Effect field radiation to make his bullets fire at slightly faster speeds, meaning they'll hit a little bit harder. Talk about handy.

Disruptor Ammo was the exact same as it had been, except Grimlock helped him adjust the setting on it, allowing Jordan to have his weapons automatically equip the ammo type as soon as he entered a stressful, combat-like situation. Grimlock offered to improve the program to allow the ammo type to be shared with others, but Jordan didn't think he should bother with it at the moment.

Currently, his omni-tool could only carry three or four abilities, making Jordan feel like he was playing Mass Effect Andromeda. Legion assured him that this was because of the limitations of his omni-tool. Basically, the Geth were having the same exact type of problem right now, and were working on a workaround. Currently, the Geth have been installing secondary omni-tools into their platforms to compensate for this, or using some of the hardware space within their platforms to store extra programs, but they were also spending some resources researching how to upgrade their omni-tools.

Hopefully, that would mean more 'Powers' in the future.

And his weapons training? He'd become fairly proficient with assault rifles, preferring burst rifles or semi-automatic rifles, rather than full auto. Despite the preference, he wasn't bad with a full-automatic. He'd tried his hand with shotguns, and could definitely use them, but he wasn't a huge fan, so he didn't carry one or use one often. For pistols, he'd been proficient with them as well, so he still carried one. Submachine guns? Nah, not really. Not a huge fan, so those were out. And sniper rifles? As much as he enjoyed using on in the games, it didn't seem as practical to him here. He could fire one and hit marks, but as good as Garrus or Ashely? No. Freaking. Way.

So, he had upgraded two of his 'Powers' in his omni-tool, he'd learned how to do well with Assault Rifles and pistols, could use the other weapons types if push came to shove, and his Avatar abilities were steadily getting easier to use.

"Hey, Grimlock?" Jordan asked, "Do you like your name and platform?"

Grimlock looked over, "Why do you ask?"

Jordan shrugged, "Well, I gave you the name and the customizations before you became a full, independent construct. I just wanted to know what you thought about it."

Grimlock remained silent for a moment as it processed his words and formed a response, "I believe it is a good name. I was… indifferent about it earlier, but now, it has, as you humans say, grown on me."

Jordan chuckled, "That's good. I'm glad I did a good job."

"So, are you ready for more training?" Grimlock said after a few more moments of silence.

"Fuck you." Jordan responded, smiling, "You said it was over."

"Affirmative. You are finished."

"Good. I was about to say. If I had to go through another day of that crap, I was going to lose it."

"And do what?"

Jordan chuckled, shrugging, "I don't know, but it'd be something!" He said, letting silence reign once more, "Hey Grimlock, wanna help me paint my weapons and armor?"

Grimlock straightened his posture, nodding, "I would be honored, Sower-Ambassador." He said, using Jordan's official Geth title.

Jordan smirked, rolling his eyes, "You can just call me Jordan, Grimlock."

"I know, Sower-Ambassador." He said, his synthetic voice coated in sarcasm.

"I wish you never learned about sarcasm…" Jordan mumbled.

"No, you don't." Grimlock corrected him.

"Yeah… I guess you're right…"

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Orbiting Rannoch, Geth Station 25, Chamber 87.**

**February 2nd, 2184. Evening on Rannoch.**

Jordan stood before the Geth Collective, wearing his customized light armor and with his two weapons holstered on his back and hip, just as they'd requested him.

His Geth Pulse Rifle was painted just like his previous one was, with green lines mimicking his own veins when they glowed painted upon it. His M-3 Predator was given a similar treatment as his rifle was given, green lines painted across the weapon, too. His armor, on the other hand, was painted quite differently.

His light human armor, acquired from Cerberus' Armory, has undergone a huge makeover. Being an advanced suit of light armor, Jordan couldn't just dispose of it. Instead, the Cerberus symbols were removed, any and all bugs or devices within it were removed, and it was first painted over with a coat of dark purple, the same shade as Geth Dropships normally were. His breather helmet was painted a similar color. In the place of the Cerberus symbol on the left of his chest, he replaced it with a new symbol. It was a small green silhouette of a Reaper, with a red circle around the Reaper with a red slash through the center. Basically, he was telling the Catalyst and Reapers to 'Fuck off!'. He knew it was petty, but whatever...

Standing to either side of Jordan was Legion and Grimlock, the two 'test subjects' in the Synthesis experiment. Jordan figured the primary reason for this visit was to discuss the results of the 'experiment' and to discuss where to go from here with it. The other reason, which Jordan was crossing his fingers for, was a mission.

The time until Shepard is revived is approximately half-way through. As far as Jordan knew, the Geth had been primarily staying within Geth Space, not interacting with anyone else with the hope that if they stayed quiet, that the organics wouldn't try anything or try to take Jordan back.

Finally, after another moment, the Geth Collective spoke, "Sower-Ambassador, we must discuss your gift of Synthesis."

"Of course, Geth. What have you decided?"

"We have reached Consensus, and we wish to all enjoy this gift. However, we have made some troubling discoveries that make this outcome currently impossible."

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked, confused.

"As you already know, it takes a lot of your energy out of you when you give Synthesis to on Geth Platform. Our calculations show that you could give Synthesis to three platforms in a galactic-standard day-night cycle, with no negative repercussions to you. In order for this gift to be given to the entire Collective in the most efficient amount of time possible, it would likely take an excess of 1482 galactic standard years."

"Why can't I just do it to the whole server, here?" Jordan asked, motioning towards the servers.

"NO!" The programs all cried out at once, stunning Jordan and overwhelming him with the volume. They realized what happened, "We're sorry." All of the programs said in near sync. After a moment was spent to recollect itself, the Collective explained, "Doing so would lock us all together. We wish to be separate entities within our platforms."

"So, my gift isn't quite like the Crucible giving it?" Jordan asked.

"As far as we know, that is accurate. Remember, during the Synthesis ending, the Geth Collective also received Old Machine upgrades. We are currently attempting to bypass this step." They informed him.

Jordan frowned, "There must be SOME way to remedy this, then?"

"We have come to a conclusion that could work. Based on the data gathered from Grimlock and Legion, we have determined we may be able to implement a small-scale Crucible-like pulse of Synthesis information and energy throughout our data channels to transform the entire collective at once. This 'pulse' would focus only on Geth Platforms and Programs connected to the Collective, leaving any wildlife or organics within the vicinity of any platforms unharmed and unchanged, as well as any foreign intelligences that attempt to gain the gift as well."

Jordan grinned, "That's great!"

"There are complications."

Jordan sighed, "Great. Alright, what's wrong?"

"We lack valuable, external data on Artificial Intelligences." They explained, "We only have experience with Geth. In order to make this work, we require more, currently unavailable data." They paused for a moment for Jordan's sake, allowing him to absorb this information, before continuing, "We have discovered a possible data source."

"Where? What?" Jordan asked.

A holographic image appeared before Jordan, which the Geth produced from a public database. It was a middle-aged white man, with a beard, wearing N7 armor. Right beside him, a second image popped up, displaying a picture from Jordan's memories. He knew exactly who this was.

"Alec Ryder…" Jordan whispered.

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador." The Geth responded, "With his production of the SAM AI, he has valuable data on Artificial Intelligences, especially in the field of directly interfacing synthetic and organic beings with the Pathfinders."

Jordan nodded, "Alright, that makes sense. But, how am I supposed to find him and get the data? I don't think he'll just hand it over if I ask nicely."

"We will provide the Synthesis data we've gathered. This should be more than enough to get his attention and be worth a trade for the information."

"But, I still don't know how to find him."

"We have a solution for that as well, but will require your presence."

"What do you need from me?"

"Liara T'Soni is located on Illium, working as an information Broker, as you already know. She has been in contact with Ryder prior to the events of Mass Effect 1, aiding in his research. She will know where to find him."

"And she'll just tell me out of the kindness of her heart? I don't know if you recall or not, but she kinda becomes quite dark in ME2. Plus, I kinda injured her last time we met."

"You have information, Sower-Ambassador. She trades in it. Perhaps offering her information on the Shadow Broker would convince her to help."

Jordan stroked his nicely-forming beard, "I get it… and you need me because the Geth can't just be seen walking around the Galaxy, and most people wouldn't want to negotiate with the Geth. You'd need an organic, like me, to do that."

"Affirmative."

Jordan smiled, "Alright. I think I can do that."

"Excellent. Legion and Grimlock will accompany you aboard the Nedas, as well as a dozen Geth Hunter Platforms in the event that you need backup."

Jordan nodded, "Alright, I'm ready."

"Good luck, Sower-Ambassador!"


	19. Chapter 16: Shadows of Illium

** Chapter 16: Shadows of Illium **

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Spaceport.**

**February 5th, 2184. 1:13 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan, Legion, and Grimlock all stepped out of the ex-Cerberus shuttle, entering the Nos Astra Spaceport.

Docked with the Nedas, they had brought the shuttle along with them for use at Illium, considering a Geth ship, even if it's not recognized as Geth, would stand out like a sore thumb. Jordan had decided to leave two Geth Hunters cloaked within the Shuttle in the event that someone attempts to take the shuttle or they need assistance.

Legion and Grimlock accompanied Jordan for several reasons. First of all, going alone to a place like Illium was simply asking for trouble. Secondly, this planet never had any issues with Legion walking around in the games, meaning that most people either didn't recognize them or assumed they were under Shepard's control. Finally, he simply felt like the two of them deserved to get to see the Galaxy.

Stepping into the Spaceport together, they easily paid the docking fees thanks to the large bank account he had possession of (thanks Geth Collective!). Together, the three of them attracted a small amount of attention, but people went about their business and ignored them. They went down a few hallways, before passing by a familiar door, which leads to where the Normandy would normally dock.

Exiting the port, the three of them looked out in wonder at Illium's beauty. Despite the dangers on Illium with contracts and other such worries, it was quite a sight to behold. Technically, this was Jordan's fourth planet he'd ever stepped foot on. Earth was the first, obviously, and then there was Rannoch, and finally was that other planet with the Heretic Base, but that one probably shouldn't count considering he'd been inside a building for the entire duration of his stay. Other than that, he'd only been aboard ships and stations.

It was quite the experience, that's for sure.

"Sower-Ambassador, as beautiful as the skyline is, we must get to work," Grimlock said.

Jordan sighed, "Yeah, you're right Grimlock. It's just… it's still so surreal to me, even after all this time, you know? I mean, I'm in a freaking video game…"

"I do not understand." Grimlock responded, "But we're here to help you."

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador. You can count on us."

Jordan patted them on their shoulders, "Thanks, Legion, Grimlock. Alright, I'm ready now. Let's go."

Together, they walked down the street, before they approached the staircase they needed. Ascending it quickly, with Jordan leading the group, they arrived at a locked door and a desk, with a very familiar looking Asari sitting there, with purplish-pink markings covering the majority of the front of her head that wasn't her face. Nyxeris.

She smiled warmly at the three of them, a flicker of recognition appeared in her eyes at the Geth, recognizing them as what they were, before she hid it with a smile. "Hi, can I help you?" She asked.

Jordan smiled back and nodded, "Of course, Miss…"

"Oh? You can call me Nyxeris."

"Alright Nyxeris, I'd like to speak with Doctor T'Soni, if that's ok with you."

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, but you'd need an appointment, she's quite a busy woman. Would you like to make one?"

"What's she doing now?" He asked. Time was important, especially now that a Broker agent knew the Geth and Jordan Sower wanted to speak with Liara. It had to be ASAP before she reported it to the Shadow Broker.

She frowned, "I'm sorry sir, but she's very busy. Now, if you're not going to make an appointment, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Legion nodded towards Grimlock, the two of them enacting a secondary plan the three of them had come up with. Or, rather, part of it and part of a new plan.

Legion pulled up his omni-tool, hacking the locked door to Liara's office quickly. Nyxeris stood up quickly, "Wait, you can't just do th-." She began to protest, before Grimlock pulled his Geth Shotgun off of his back, promptly pumping a round into Nyxeris.

The asari flew back against the wall, painting it blue with her blood as she slid down, back into her chair. She looked up at Jordan and the Geth in shock, Jordan equally shocked by the turn of events. Grimlock shook its head, "Broker bitch." He said as the life left her eyes.

"Grimlock, what the hell was that?"

"She was preparing a biotic attack and was reaching for a call-button, likely connected to the Broker or the authorities. There was no time. I acted in the best way possible, ensuring your safety." He reasoned.

Jordan sighed, frowning, "Ok, but next time, let me know, please. I mean, she deserved to probably die, but still…"

"Affirmative."

"Good… thanks… and thanks for saving me."

"You are welcome, Jordan," Grimlock said, just as the door beeped and the light on it turned green.

"Sower-Ambassador, we are in," Legion announced.

"Alright, let's go." Jordan said, "Weapons out and follow my lead. She's probably not going to be thrilled about me being here." He took a deep breath, "Alright, on three. One. Two. Three."

They entered the room.

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office.**

**February 5th, 2184. 1:31 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Doctor Liara T'Soni sat comfortably in her human-made imported leather office chair, sitting back and taking a small break after her most recent meeting with one of her information agents.

Today had been a fairly average day for her thus far. The day was only half-way over and her schedule appears clear for the rest of the day, granted that no unexpected or surprise check-ins or requests come in. It was nice. Her life as an information broker, especially one going against the infamous Shadow Broker, has been a very busy and dangerous one.

Luckily for her, she had Nyxeris outside, watching everything carefully.

Leaning forward now, she examined her console, going through any odd pieces of information that have been sent in by agents today. "Let's see…" She whispered to herself, a habit formed during her time as an archeologist. There was leaked news about yet another Blasto movie (why wouldn't that franchise die already?!). There was some other information on stock expectations on major Illium corporations. And then at the Spaceport, a Shuttle once marked as Cerberus landed without incident, owned by a man with two security mechs. "Hmm… that's odd, I wonder wh-…" She whispered before she heard the muffled sound of a bang on the other side of her office door.

She looked up from her console, staring at her locked door as it turned green, sending alarms blaring through the young Asari's head. Something was wrong. What happened? What's going on?

Falling back to her combat experience with John, Liara raised a barrier around herself immediately, forming a sphere of biotic energy in the palm of her hand beneath her desk, hidden from view but ready for use at a moment's notice. That's when the door slid open.

Jordan Sower, with a Geth Pulse Rifle, much like the one Shepard had confiscated from him, aimed forward. That would have been bad enough, but he was flanked by two Geth Units. One Juggernaut with unique markings, and the other was a more unique, human-sized unit with… no… is that N7 armor? She squinted her eyes at the armor, seeing very familiar markings on it. Was that… Shepards? She felt her chest tighten at the possibility.

Together, the three intruders entered the room, closing and locking the door behind them, but not before Liara got a peek behind them, seeing the slumped over form of her assistant, Nyxeris. She took a calming breath, steeling herself as the ball of energy in her hand grew stronger. If she had to, she'd focus on the Geth Juggernaut. Those were more dangerous than most other units, and from what she remembered, Jordan wasn't much of a fighter.

What caught her off guard was what Jordan did next, lowering his weapon, before putting it on his back, locking it in place. He motioned towards the two Geth units, "Put them down, guys. We just need to talk."

Liara couldn't help but cut in, "Just like how you talked with Nyxeris?"

The Juggernaut, with some sort of human word written on its chest, turned its head and focused on Liara, "She was an agent for the Shadow Broker, reporting everything you did back to him." It said.

Liara flinched at the Geth's voice, having never heard a Geth speak before. She looked at it carefully, standing up slowly while keeping her hand hidden from their view.

"The Observer." Legion cut in, "That was her code name." He turned back towards the door, unable to help himself, "Her barriers needed practice. Practice I'm afraid she won't be getting." He quoted Liara from ME2, unbeknownst to Liara. Jordan barely contained a chuckle.

Liara turned her gaze to Jordan, "What do you want?" She asked harshly.

Jordan frowned, sighing as he looked down in shame, "Listen… Liara, I'm sorry."

"I… I beg your pardon?" She asked.

"For hurting you during that meld. I didn't mean to…"

She interrupted, "I heard your apology when Jo-, when Shepard questioned you after the Reaper attack." She informed him, "Still, it's nice to know you feel that way." She added a smirk, "Besides, I was at fault as well, melds... they can be quite scary for those unaccustomed to them… I should have waited, or said now... that wasn't right. So, if it means anything, I apologize as well. Now, is that really the only reason you came here?" She asked, voice growing cold and harsh once more.

"Thank you, but that's not the only reason I'm here." Jordan said, shaking his head, "I hear the great Doctor T'Soni is an information broker. One who opposes another, very dangerous information broker."

"You are well informed." She replied simply. "You have been… honest enough in the past Mr. Sower, so tell me: Are you here to threaten me for information?"

Jordan shook his head, "I simply wish to trade information. I believe we can reach an agreement."

Liara powered her biotics down, placing both hands visibly on her desk, "First, tell me what you want, then we can come to an agreement."

Legion stepped forward, "We require the location and any relevant information on N7 Alec Ryder."

Jordan nodded, "What Legion said. We need to speak with him. Some of the information he possesses is very… valuable to the Geth Collective. They'd like to have a copy of his data." He admitted honestly, which Liara caught.

"I see. We were associates at one point. I don't think I can just give up his location, especially after the weapons test in my lobby." Liara said with a frown.

"We have information that will help him as well." Jordan said, "We're going to offer a trade of data with him, but first we need to find him."

"And what have you brought me that you think can pay for this information."

Jordan smirked, "How about Feron's location?"

Her head snapped to Jordan so quickly it almost flew off her neck, "What? What did you say?"

"I know where Feron and the Shadow Broker are."

"How do you know… do you even understand how much this…?" She tried asking, before Jordan cut in softly.

"I know about Shepard's body and Cerberus. I know about Feron." The man before her paused, looking to his companions for a moment, silently communicating with them before smirking, "What if I told you the Geth were willing to not only help you rescue Feron, but take down the Shadow Broker as well?"

She almost flinched at the idea, but maintained a cool, level-headed appearance, replying neutrally, "If that is true, then I would be more than willing to give you the information." She narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't understand why you're doing this? What's your angle?"

Jordan shook his head sadly, "You want the honest truth, Liara? You've seen the destructive power of a single Reaper, haven't you?" He asked. Liara nodded, to which Jordan continued, "Imagine thousands of them. Picture hundreds of Sovereign-like ships entering Thesia's atmosphere. Picture the Temple of Athame, crumbling into ruins as the world burned around it, assaulted by countless Reapers." Jordan said, "Can you imagine that? Now picture that ten-fold, on every single civilized planet in the Galaxy."

Liara watched him carefully, seeing nothing but truth and honesty come from his lips. He continued, "That is what is coming. Soon, the Reapers will invade. Everything that I've done, everything that I've been doing, it's to try to stop those monsters from killing everything and everyone in the Galaxy. That's my angle, Liara."

Liara swallowed, "I see. I won't say I fully believe you, but you seem to believe it." She paused for a moment, "Why don't we go for a drink and discuss this… partnership, of sorts?"

Jordan smirked, nodding, "Of course, and I know just the bar."

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity.**

**February 5th, 2184. 2:17 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan, Liara, Grimlock, and Legion all entered the bar together, finding it fairly populated with people at this time of day. Despite it only being about 2:15 in the afternoon on Earth, here on Illium, it was the beginning of the evening.

Together, with the Geth units serving as a sort of armed service behind them, they approached the bar, yet another familiar-looking asari behind the counter.

"Hey, welcome to Eternity." She began a normal greeting indifferently, "I'm Aethyta, Asari Matriarch, and bartender. Can I get you anything?" Jorda noticed and Liara missed it, but Aethyta refused to make eye contact with Liara.

"Alright Aethyta, what kind of human drinks do you have?"

She shrugged, maintaining eye contact with him, having already assessed that the Geth units behind him weren't going to start anything. She indefinitely recognized Jordan from the warnings sent out by the Council, but didn't seem to really care right now, "I think we have some bottles of rum and vodka, if you're into that kind of stuff. Maybe a few other ones here and there. What are you looking for?"

"Can you make a Cuba Libre?" Jordan asked.

Aethyta smirked, "'Course I can, babe." She remarked.

Jordan patted Liara's shoulder, jolting her from her thoughts, "What about you, Liara?"

"Oh, just a glass of honey mead, please." She responded.

"Alright, that'll be 15 creds, kids." She said, motioning towards the display and console, "Wanna open a tab?"

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, sure." He placed one of his credit chits into the display, connecting one of the accounts given to him by the Geth.

"Coming right up." Aethyta nodded, seeing the transfer of funds succeed. She turned to start making drinks, as the two of them took a seat at a nearby table.

Liara looked at Jordan critically, with one of the marked 'eyebrows' raised, "Are you sure it's safe for you to be out in the open right now?" She asked, "Your bounty has exceeded 30 million credits as of last month." She informed him.

He simply shook his head and chuckled, "Really, that's cool!" He said, "You hear that, Legion and Grimlock?" He asked, turning towards the two of them, "I'm the galaxy's most wanted."

Grimlock shook his head, "Congratulations?" He partially asked, partially congratulated.

"Thanks, bud."

"So, you've named the Geth?" She asked, motioning with her head, "Grimlock and Legion?"

Jordan smiled, "Yeah, they're good friends, and only dangerous to our enemies. They're nice, right guys?"

"Occasionally," Grimlock replied.

"Affirmative," Legion replied to, lightly smacking Grimlock upside the head with a hand. Yeah, Grimlock's mastered sarcasm and tends to mess and joke around with Jordan, no doubt from his influence. Legion, on the other hand, will occasionally make a remark but remained mostly professional. Guess the memories of how he originally acted rubbed off on him too.

Liara furrowed her false eyebrows, "Fascinating. They're almost like true intelligences. Almost not even fully Synthetics." She pondered aloud.

"That's because they're not. At least, not anymore." He admitted, grabbing Liara's attention, "They've evolved, Liara. Better than they ever were. These two are prototypes. Their very own bio-synthetic intelligences, independent of the hive-mind intelligence of the Collective." He informed her.

"How is this possible?"

"I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me," Jordan admitted.

Liara looked at him carefully, "Do you remember what happened when I melded with you?"

Jordan furrowed his brows, "Not really, honestly. I remember your eyes going black and the whole 'embrace eternity' thing, but in my head, I'm kinda at a loss."

"I heard a young child's voice…" She began, watching Jordan carefully as he tensed up at the information, "The voice threatened me. Made me watch the Shepard's Prothean Vision, but it was enhanced, more intense, even." Her eyes narrowed, "It flooded my head with those images and pain."

Jordan swallowed, "I'm… I'm sorry Liara. I'm really, truly sorry." He apologized, "I never meant to hurt you."

"Was that even a beacon that you encountered? Those images, they were too intense, yet they were also too… odd." She admitted, "How do you know everything that you do?"

"Here's your drinks, kids. Have fun." Aethyta interrupted, placing the two beverages before them. Jordan nodded with a smile, thanking her almost at the same exact time as Liara.

Jordan took a sip. Perfect, it even had the lime juice. "It's great, thanks Aethyta."

"No problem, babe. It's my job."

Jordan smiled, nodding to the Matriarch as she walked away, returning to the bar. Liara, herself, took a sip of her wine, smiling lightly at the taste, "I don't believe you've answered my question."

Jordan frowned, "It's complicated."

"Then explain." She countered, frowning, "I believe I'm owed transparency."

He sighed, "I… I can't give you the full story here. This place isn't secure…" He admitted, "But I'll tell you it wasn't a beacon. I'm kinda like a… prophet, I guess?"

"You can see the future?" She asked incredulously, "Genuine foresight is unheard of, Mister Sower, so excuse me for being doubtful."

Jordan frowned, "Alright, here's a piece of information that neither of us should know." he said, "The Shadow Broker, he's a Yahg."

She furrowed her false eyebrows, "A Yahg? They have been quarantined to their own planet since discovery. There is no way…"

Jordan cut her off, "When we get there, you'll see. Then, you can believe me." He said, taking another sip of his drink. While doing so, Aethyta came over, dropping off another glass of the sparkling, brown liquid for Jordan, placing a genuine paper napkin underneath it for him.

She smiled gently at him as she placed it, "Noticed you were running a bit dry there, babe. Here's a refill. Drink up." She said, walking away before Jordan could respond.

"But you haven't even finished your first one?" Liara pointed out, nodding towards the glass upon Jordan's lips, still over half-full.

Legion interrupted, "Sower-Ambassador, something doesn't feel right."

Liara looked at the Geth with confusion. 'Feel'? Since when does a Geth 'feel' something? Jordan immediately placed his glass down and picked up the new one. the napkin underneath being fully revealed in the process. There were words written upon it.

Jordan swallowed as he reached for it closely, reading it quickly, his face began to pale. He relayed the message silently to Grimlock and Legion.

 _"Vasir is waiting outside. You two may want to leave."_ It was written in an Asari Language, but thanks to Jordan's full, instantaneous connection to his omni-tool, it translated it to English for him immediately.

Jordan's eyes widened, both Geth straightening their posture. Liara noticed the changes in their demeanor, "What? What is it?"

Suddenly, her omni-tool beeped, receiving a message. She didn't deem this as important and ignored it. Jordan cleared his throat, "It's probably important, you should probably see who it is." He informed her carefully.

She became only more confused at this, slowly bringing up the interface.

_'To: Doctor Liara T'Soni_

_From: Jordan Sower_

_There's a known Shadow Broker Agent waiting outside for us: Spectre Tela Vasir. She must have overheard our conversation in your office. Nexeris probably bugged it. We need to leave and get back to my shuttle ASAP. We are in danger. There are also, likely, other Agents nearby._

_Do not react aloud to this message. She's probably listening in, and may confront us now if we act out. Breathe out aloud if you understand._

_-Jordan Sower'_

Liara took a deep breath and sighed audibly for Jordan, signaling that she understood. Despite the situation, she took a sip of her wine as she powered her omni-tool back down.

Jordan raised an eyebrow, regaining his composure as best as he could, "So, who was it?" Jordan asked nonchalantly.

Liara shrugged, being a much better actor than he was, likely due in fact to her occupation, "Just a client. I'll take care of it later. Besides, we were talking, weren't we?"

Jordan nodded, "Yes, of course, but you see…" He paused for a moment, "Maybe it'd be best to discuss this back on my shuttle, right guys?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Of course, Sower-Ambassador," Legion responded.

"Affirmative." Came Grimlock's simple response.

Jordan sent Grimlock a silent message, _"We're going to need a distraction, Grimlock. Something to stir up the crowd and cause a panic… but try not to damage the bar. We're in Aethyta's good graces right now, might as well stay there."_

He sent another message to Legion immediately following that one, _"Legion get the shuttle outside the bar, now."_

_"Affirmative. It will be arriving in approximately 4 minutes."_

His next message went to both of them, even though they both knew of the other's message, _"The shuttle arriving is going to tip off Vasir immediately. Go for the distraction now, Grimlock."_

 _"Affirmative, this will be fun. Distraction commencing in five seconds."_ It replied silently.

Jordan mouthed the word 'five' to Liara, who seemed to understand the inaudible human word. She must have melded with Shepard back on the SR-1 and learned English. She nodded, smirking in response as she turned her attention to the Geth, ready to watch whatever was going to unfold.

Grimlock stood up perfectly straight, taking a step forward to be visible to everyone in the bar. His 'flashlight head' began to glow a bright, harsh red color as it swept the room slowly, gaining everyone's attention. He began to speak aloud, purposely deepening his voice and making it exceptionally synthetic in tone.

 **"Scanning... Twenty-seven Organics detected."** He said as loud as he could, **"Primary directive: Must exterminate Organic Life."** At that, he removed his Geth Plasma Shotgun from his back and loaded a blank thermal clip into it, **"Prepare to die, Meatbags!"** He exclaimed, firing a blank round from the shotgun, making just as much noise as it would normally.

Logically, as any organic would do in a situation like this, every single patron in the bar began to scream, running out of the bar as quickly as they could in a disorderly fashion.

Jordan tipped his first glass back, chugging his first drink quickly as he stood up, looking towards the balcony. The shuttle should be here in just a moment, he thought. He looked towards the bar, where Aethyta simply stood with her arms crossed, looking unamused.

Liara stared at her in confusion, but Jordan was unable to keep his mouth shut, "Thanks, Matriarch Aethyta! Don't worry, I'll keep your little girl safe! OH, and you can keep the credit chit."

Aethyta recoiled in shock, her glare falling apart temporarily before returning tenfold. Liara simply stood there, gaping between the two of them, at a total loss of words. "Wh-what?" She asked, shocked beyond words at the revelation.

Jordan smiled awkwardly and waved, "Whoops…" He said, now thinking that he might have made an error in judgment.

Legion shook his head, "Sower-Ambassador, that was inadvisab-…"

 **"DIE, MEATBAGS, DIE!"** Grimlock continued.

Legion shook its head, "Enough, Grimlock. They have all fled in terror."

Grimlock froze, before recomposing itself, replacing the blank clip with a true one, shrugging, "I apologize, Sower-Ambassador. That was… more enjoyable than I expected."

Jordan chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief, "Grimlock…"

Aethyta shook her head in disbelief, "The Matriarchs on Thesia will never believe this. The Galaxy's Most Wanted and his Geth… and they're all morons…"

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! Spectre business, move aside!" They all heard a harsh, female voice cry out from outside the bar, besieged by the panicked crowd.

Legion and Grimlock pointed their weapons towards the bar entrance, as Jordan readied his Pulse Rifle and Liara readied her biotics and an M-3, herself. Slowly but surely, they crept back towards the balcony/exit.

"C'mon, where's the shuttle, Legion?" Jordan asked aloud.

"En-route and almost here, Sower-Ambassador."

That's when Tela Vasir was finally able to enter the bar, her shotgun raised as she entered with a squad of soldiers behind her. The Shadow Broker's private army, if Jordan recalled correctly. Immediately, Grimlock fired a slug of plasma towards the entrance, forcing the enemies into cover.

"Dammit!" She cursed, "Jordan Sower, surrender now or I'll be forced to kill you."

Jordan shouted back, "Yeah, I surrender and what? I'll be taken and tortured."

"Take this fucking outside, out of my bar!" Aethyta cut in, her own biotic barrier raised.

 _"Sower-Ambassador, shuttle arriving in ten seconds,"_ Legion informed him silently.

"Liara, stasis." He said, hoping that she'd be willing to listen to someone she didn't really trust.

Somehow, against all odds she not only listened, but used her Stasis on the closest soldier, who was just leaning out of cover, temporarily freezing him in place. That's when the telltale sounds of a shuttle were heard throughout the bar.

"Alright, time to go!" Jordan said, running towards the balcony with Liara right behind him. Legion and Grimlock, pulling their own Pulse Rifles out, gave them all covering fire as they retreated to the shuttle.

Jordan jumped in as soon as it opened the side, the two Hunters within aiding Grimlock and Legion with keeping the enemy pinned down. He reached out an arm and helped pulled Liara in quickly. Legion was next, using his synthetic legs to propel himself easily to the shuttle, which had inched a bit further away by this point. Finally, Grimlock turned and ran, relying on his massive shields as he jumped in.

As soon as everyone was inside, the door closed and the shuttle took off.

Vasir cursed, "Dammit." She called into her comms, "Both targets have escaped in a white shuttle. Take it down, any means necessary!" She demanded, just as another shuttle came by the balcony, driven by an associate. She hopped in immediately, "What are you waiting for? After them!"

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Geth Shuttle.**

**February 5th, 2184. 3:29 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Sower-Ambassador, we are unable to clear atmosphere," Legion informed the occupants.

Liara looked stunned, "What? Why?"

Jordan approached the cockpit and cursed, "Fuck. That's not good."

"What?"

Legion stepped in to answer, "This shuttle is not equipped with stealth technology. There are fifteen hostile shuttles in the vicinity, locked on an interception vector. Amendment: There is also a large, unidentified ship waiting in orbit, detected by the Nedas. Leaving the sky-car level will result in our non-functionality."

Liara shook her head, "So, basically, we have several shuttles coming to shoot us down if we stay here, but if we try to flee, we'll be shot down by a much larger craft. Is that what I'm hearing."

"That is what I heard," Grimlock said.

Jordan rolled his head, shaking his head, "Alright, so… we need a plan." He thought for a moment, "Legion, you said this shuttle lacks stealth technology, right?"

"Affirmative."

"So you're saying if we could get to the Nedas, we'd be home free?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Wait, you have a ship with stealth technology? Like the Normandy?"

Jordan awkwardly smiled, "W-well… yeah, we do…"

Legion nodded as he completed the thought, "That is an excellent idea, Sower-Ambassador. We will call down the Nedas for extraction. Warning: The Nedas is on the far side of Illium. It will be thirty minutes until it arrives."

Jordan frowned, "Just like one of those 'survival missions'." He said with a sigh, "I guess those could be fun."

"Survival mission?" Liara asked, "Is this just a game to you, or something?" She asked, appalled.

"Sower-Ambassador." Legion interrupted once more, "Two shuttles are within firing range."

Just as he said that, the shuttle rocked from a direct hit. A round of cursed flew from Jordan's mouth as the Geth programs piloting the shuttle began evasive maneuvers. Cutting across traffic and around nearby buildings in an attempt to provide cover and possibly lose their enemies. However, they couldn't seem to shake them.

"Grimlock, scan the shuttle." He ordered, "Look for anything sending out our location other than the navigation system connected to the Nedas."

"Affirmative… Jordan, we have detected a tracking device on the underside of our craft."

"Dammit, figured they'd do something like this. Broker's been after me for a while. Makes sense that he'd act out once I returned to where he could get me."

"What've you done to anger the Broker?" Liara asked curiously.

Jordan shrugged, "I simply didn't want to continue business after our first time."

Liara nodded, connecting the dots, "I see. And the Broker thought your knowledge was valuable enough to not let you go."

"Exactl-."

He was cut off by another direct hit, "Sower-Ambassador. One more hit will disable our shields."

"Fuck… alright…" He looked out the simulated windows, "Put us down on a nearby building. Make sure our LZ looks defendable. We still have nearly twenty-five minutes until extraction."

Liara stared at him, "You want to land? Are you insane?"

Jordan made eye contact, "Look, Liara. I don't know if you noticed, but we're currently low on options right now. Plus, Tela Vasir seems to want to take, at least me, alive. That means, if we land, she won't simply blow up the building we're on. She'll land and try to take us down."

"And that's good because?"

"Because we're far more likely to be able to hold them off for twenty minutes then trying to fly around with a tracking device."

She sighed, "Alright." She looked around the cabin, spotting the two unique Geth platforms and the two Hunters, "There's four of them, and us two. You think six of us can hold off an army's worth of soldiers?"

Jordan smiled, "C'mon, you're overexaggerating, Liara…"

"Actually, Sower-Ambassador, she is correct." Legion cut in, "If each shuttle is equipped with at least ten soldiers, then the possibility of facing over a hundred and fifty soldiers is exceptionally high, including Vasir-Spectre."

Jordan shook his head, "Then we'll have to play dirty. They won't expect cloaked enemies. Plus, look at us, guys. We have a powerful asari, a Geth Infiltrator, a Geth Juggernaut, and an Avatar. We got this!"

Liara shook her head in amusement, "I don't know… And-"

But Jordan cut her off, "I promise to explain everything when we're safe and sound on our ship, alright Liara. But right now, we have more important things to do than play 20 Questions."

Liara didn't seem to get the reference, but understood enough to know what he meant, "Alright, I'm ready."

"Put us down, guys." He called out, receiving an 'Affirmative' from the piloting programs.

The shuttle lurched despite the installed dampeners, as it soared its way towards a nearby high-rise. Watching through the holographic monitors, Jordan observed the craft land on a lower roof, with a wall of the building behind it to serve as a sort of cover.

The doors slid open as he motioned towards the Hunters, "You two, cloak up and get into positions on the roof. Don't fire upon the enemy until they're exposed."

They acknowledged silently, as their cloaks came online and they vanished from sight, the air rippling where they once stood as they left the shuttle. "Grimlock, stay with us. Legion, get into a sniping position." He turned to Liara, "Liara, stay with me and Grimlock, and get your barriers ready. We're going to have to hold position until our ship arrives."

She nodded, deferring to his judgment. Legion took off silently as he worked his way partially into the building, climbing up a floor or two from the inside to gain a vantage point. Together, Grimlock, Jordan, and Liara all exited the shuttle and took cover behind to mechanical units and cement barriers beside the shuttle.

They watched silently as over a dozen other shuttle transports came into view, beginning to drop down and drop off their people.

"Grimlock, take down one of those shuttles."

"Affirmative." He replied, powering up a Siege Pulse, firing it at one of the shuttles. A Siege Pulse, like an overload, can overload and electrify targets. Where it differs, however, is the way it's used and the exclusivity to Geth Platforms. Normally a ME3 multiplayer ability, Grimlock is field testing it today. Luckily enough, it works! It hit the thruster of one of them directly, cutting the power out and sending it spinning towards the ground far below. One less shuttle to worry about now.

Seeing the possible threat to the shuttles and the limited landing space, 10 of the remaining 14 shuttles broke off, with half of them ascending to the roof of the entire high-rise, and the other half descending to enter the building from a few floors down, out of sight from their opponents. The remaining four shuttles hovered briefly over their rooftop, dropping down several troops.

Asari, Humans, Batarians, Turians, and Salarians, all wearing black armor, fell into cover as their leader stood out in the open. Tela Vasir; Council Spectre and known Shadow Broker Agent. She shook her head towards where the three of them were taking cover.

"It's over Sower. Surrender now, and maybe we'll let T'soni walk out of this alive." She called out. "You and your companions are surrounded, outgunned and outnumbered."

"Fuck you, Vasir!" Jordan responded diplomatically. He readied his Pulse Rifle as Incendiary rounds filled its chamber, courtesy of Grimlock's Squad Power. Luckily, Jordan already knew the two Geth Hunters already likely had this ammo equipped now, while Legion maintained his own ammo type: Tungsten Ammo, an improvement on Armor-piercing ammo. Normally, Legion would never have access to this, but at Jordan's request, he'd installed the ability.

She sighed, "Guess we couldn't do things the easy way? Alright boys, let-…"

Jordan interrupted her command with a "Now!"

A single round of Tungsten design crashed through an Asari Commando behind Vasir, since her shields would have survived the shot. Instead, it pierced her head like jelly, killing the dangerous biotic threat before she could act out. At that moment, the two Geth Hunters open fired, blasting away with Incendiary Rounds equipped onto their Plasma Shotguns; thinning the herd, so-to-speak.

Grimlock deployed a floating Geth Turret pinning down the rest of the enemy as they dove into cover, their attention mostly focusing on the Hunters flanking them.

"Dammit. Take down those Geth. And someone find me that sniper!" She screamed out into her comms.

Liara smirked, "Your Geth are extraordinary. I can't imagine what would have happened if the ones Shepard faced were like yours." She pondered aloud. Maybe they could hold out after all.

 _"Sower-Ambassador."_ Legion spoke over the comms, _"Enemy contacts detected two floors above my position. Estimated time of interception: Less than five minutes."_

"Fuck." He cursed in response. "Hunter 2, cloak and abandon the assault. Work with Legion and slow down the roof advance." Jordan turned to Grimlock, "Hey Grim, we'll be fine for a moment with your turret. I need you to blow the staircases below us. We can't afford reinforcements from below. Be wary of any civilians."

"Affirmative, Jordan." He replied. "Be careful." Grimlock activated his Hardened Platform ability, temporarily overhauling his shields and health as he dashed from cover, breaking through a nearby window as he went for the staircase.

He turned toward Liara, "Liara, they're shields should be lowering. Why don't you give them a singularity."

"I was thinking the same thing." She commented, standing up for a moment, throwing a singularity at the large group of enemies. Several of them began floating in the air, which allowed Jordan, Legion, and Liara to shoot down several of them, ending another few lives of the enemies. That's when Jordan saw the biotic aura surrounding Tela Vasir.

"Fuck, duck!" he cried out, pushing Liara out of the way, right as Vasir slammed into him with a Biotic Charge, replenishing her shields and draining Jordan's. Behind her, the Shadow Broker men finally recovered from the initial attack, taking down the remaining Hunter on the rooftop.

Liara threw a warp at her, trying to get Tela Vasir away from him, as she fired a shotgun round into Jordan point blank, before charging away, back to her squad. Jordan groaned, his armor slowed down and stopped most of the rounds, but two of them got through his armor.

Bending down with fear in her eyes now, she administered medi-gel, sealing his wounds and stabilizing Jordan temporarily. "C'mon, Jordan, you can't die yet."

"Ahhh, shit… I forgot how tough she was…" He groaned out, feeling his torso numb and grow could from the medi-gel. He'd survive, but he'd also need to get checked out after they got out of this.

 _"Jordan. The stairwell has been neutralized. Enemy forces on the lower levels are halted. Returning now."_ Grimlock said.

Liara called into her comms, "Legion, Grimlock, how far out is extraction?"

 _"Nearly here, T'Soni-Doctor,"_ Legion responded. _"Alert, more shuttles are incoming."_ He informed them. Looking at her radar, she noticed the blips, her eyes widening in fear. There we dozens more of the shuttles en route to their building. They needed to get out of there!

Jordan frowned, sitting up and deploying his Geth Shield Boost, peering around the corner of cover as he fired his Pulse Rifle. He didn't kill any more of them, but it kept them pinned as Legion did his best to pick them off.

Liara fired shots as well, picking off several of the men, just as warp was fired from Vasir. She narrowly dodged it, but ducked back into cover as her barriers fell. Jordan did that same for the same reason. "How do we deal with her, if you know everything?" She asked, becoming more and more stressed out by the moment.

Jordan replied aloud, "I don't know, ok? Normally, she doesn't have a hundred men with her. Normally, Shepard's here too." He replied impatiently, "We can discuss this later, ok?"

Just then, a black Geth Dropship descended into view, hovering closeby near the edge of the building. "Time to go!" He shouted over the comms.

One section of the wall gave way on the ship, where several more Geth Platforms awaited, firing into the enemy and giving them all covering fire for evac. Running together, Jordan and Liara jumped aboard, with Legion and Grimlock close behind, jumping aboard as well.

"Where's the last Hunter?"

Legion pointed into the building where his vantage point was, "Hunter 02 provided assistance and allowed our escape."

Jordan smiled, shaking his head as the wall closed, the ship quickly re-engaging its stealth drive as they left the atmosphere.

"We did it…" Jordan admitted, breathing out deeply in relief. I can't believe it…"

Liara nodded, "Yes. And if you're to be believed, we're going to take down the Broker next." She said, her eyes now narrowed at Jordan, "I believe I still have some questions, Mister Sower."

Jordan sighed, sitting down on one of the Geth-provided chairs, the rest of the Platforms returning to their designated positions as the Nedas left Illium, heading towards the Mass Relay.

"Alright, I guess I do owe you that much. We have time until we reach the Broker. Ask away…" He finally said, motioning towards another Chair that Legion had kindly provided, moving it over for her to use. She sat down, nodding thankfully towards Legion as she took a deep breath.

Now was the time for some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geth abilities:
> 
> Grimlock – Prototype Geth Juggernaut Platform
> 
> Power 1: Siege Pulse  
> Power 2: Geth Turret  
> Power 3: Hardened Platform  
> Loyalty Power: Squad Incendiary Ammo
> 
> Legion – Geth Infiltrator
> 
> Power 1: AI Hacking  
> Power 2: Combat Drone  
> Power 3: Tungsten Ammo  
> Loyalty Power: Geth Shield Boost


	20. Chapter 17: Substitution

** Chapter 17: Substitution **

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, The Nedas, Enroute to Hagalaz.**

**February 5th, 2184. 4:06 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Alright, I guess I do owe you that much. We have time until we reach the Broker. Ask away…" Jordan told her, giving Liara plenty of opportunities to figure out what exactly was going on.

She remained silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. She asked the first, important question first, "You know where the Shadow Broker is?"

Jordan nodded, "Hagalaz." He informed her, "He has a ship within atmo, specialized to run on electricity generated from the storms that form at the point of dawn and dusk across the planet. Perfect location for a secret base."

She thought about it for a moment, considering this idea. It certainly seemed plausible, given the small amount of information she had on the Broker. A perfect location for a secret base, as Jordan had said. Finally nodding, Liara asked the next question she had, following up the previous one, "Why are you helping me?" She wondered aloud, "If you truly know where the Broker is, what's stopping you and your Geth from attacking him earlier?"

Jordan smirked, holding up a single finger, "First of all, I knew you'd be interested in Feron and getting some revenge on the Broker after manhandling and almost selling Shepard's body. Figured you'd be interested." He said honestly, before a second finger popped up, "Secondly, it's because of what I know will come to pass."

She shook her head in disbelief, "Ah, yes, your foresight, yes?"

Jordan chuckled, "It's kinda like that, but not really. I know who things could go within certain circumstances, but with my interference, it's becoming less and less likely to occur in the same way."

"If I may be so bold, what is supposed to happen when we arrive."

"Well, again, normally you'd be with Shepard, over a year from now." He informed her, "Anyway, you'd storm the base, shredding the Broker's private army to pieces. You'd rescue Feron, kill the Broker…" He paused for a moment, making eye contact with Liara as his expression became deadly serious, "And you take over his operations."

"Wh-what?!" She asked, shocked, "That's preposterous. Why would I do such a thing?"

"Well, the original Broker is already dead, replaced by the Yahg." He started, "And it all has to do with the impending Reaper invasion. We both know they're coming. Imagine how useful the resources of the Broker could be in the incoming war. How much we could prepare? That's the reasoning."

She shook her head, "This is exceptionally hard to believe."

Jordan shrugged in response, "I understand. If I was in your position, I'd probably call you insane and ignore everything you were saying." He reasoned.

"Sower-Ambassador, such talk does not instill confidence in others," Legion responded from several yards away.

He shrugged once more, putting his hands up in surrender, "Hey, just trying to be totally honest, here."

Liara inclined her head, "I appreciate the supposed transparency, Mister Sower." She admitted, "However, much of what you're saying doesn't make much sense."

Jordan motioned towards Legion and Grimlock, "Hey, they believe me."

"Affirmative."

"Yes."

"Why don't you ask some other questions."

"How about our plan?" Liara asked, "We're just going to storm the Broker's base, or ship, with this single ship?"

Jordan shook his head, smirking, "Of course not. The Geth's 1st fleet will meet us at Hagalaz."

Her eyes bulged almost out of her head, "You have an entire fleet?"

Nodding, Jordan responded, "Of course. I told you, we're dedicated."

Liara took a deep breath, recomposing herself, "I'd like to know what you meant on Illium in Eternity?"

Jordan's eyes widened as an awkward smile arose on his face, "Yeah… about that… that might not have been the best way to tell you."

She narrowed her eyes, "Wait, so you're saying…"

Jordan finished her thought, "That Matriarch Aethyta is your father? Yes, she is." He informed her.

Liara went silent, trying to process this, "Why… why did mother never tell me about her?" She asked aloud as she stared at her hands, "Was she ashamed of me?"

Jordan put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Did she not tell you she was proud of you, Liara?" Jordan asked, seeing recognition flare within her eyes, Jordan continued, "I'm not entirely sure why she never told you. Maybe it was because of a variety of factors? Think about it, she had a daughter in her Matriarch stage, with another Asari. You're a…" Jordan hesitated, changing the verbiage, "…daughter of two Asari Matriarchs. That's not something that's commonly looked upon with approval."

She shrugged, "I guess I understand." She looked up, "What was she doing in Eternity, as a bartender, of all things? Matriarchs are known for their wisdom and leadership on Thesia. Why would she be out here, in a bar of all places?

"Honestly?" Jordan asked, "The Matriarchs thought you were suspicious, considering your mother's crimes." Before she could protest, Jordan held up a hand, "I know she was indoctrinated, but they don't know that. Anyway, Aethyta was chosen to watch over you, probably volunteering to do so to stop any sort of hit going out on you. Whether you know it or not, Liara," Jordan said softly, "She cares about you."

She nodded slowly, "I… I can understand their reasoning. When everything calms down… I'd like to have a chance to talk with her." She admitted.

Jordan smiled. Despite Liara's occupation as an information Broker and all the crap she'd been involved with over the years, she hadn't gone completely dark and menacing. She'd begun on the path towards ruthlessness, but Jordan's influence and changes… maybe they'd spare Liara from that transformation.

"I'm sure you have plenty more questions, Liara." Jordan said quietly.

Liara recomposed herself fully, nodding. "I do. I have many questions. Some of which I've been wondering since I'd first seen you. Who are you, really?"

Jordan shrugged, "Far enough. If you were still wondering, yes, my name is, indeed, Jordan Sower." He said with a smirk, "Born and raised on Earth to public servicemen and women, on a peninsula on North America, called Florida. I've been a college student for most of my life. That is, up until a little over a year ago." He told her.

Liara nodded, "I have become familiar with Earth over the recent months. I believe I know the area you are describing. A college student you say? How'd all of this happen?"

Jordan's smile became less humorous, "Here comes the part where you might not believe me. I was… for lack of a better word, taken from my home and to the Citadel. From there, I made contact with the Geth, and the rest is history."

"You were kidnapped?"

"Yeah, by a glowing child-like artificial construct, who apparently dabbles in extra-dimensional travel and extra-solar genocide," Jordan said, some humor creeping back in.

Liara narrowed her eyes, "This is not a joking matter, Jordan." She began, "I believe you promised me the truth."

Jordan's eyes, in contrast, opened up in shock and realization, "Liara…" He began, "Would you be willing to attempt another meld with me?" He asked, quickly adding, "I won't be resisting this time. I want to show you my story if you'll allow me."

Her look became one of puzzlement, "You mean you're actually telling me the truth?" She asked, to which Jordan nodded, "I suppose a meld would not hurt, as long as you're willing to give me the information this time."

Jordan raised his right arm, forming a right angle at the elbow as he raised three fingers, "Scout's honor, ma'am." He said with a slight smile.

She didn't seem to understand what he did either, but accepted it nonetheless, "Very well…" She scooted to the edge of her seat as her arms extended, grabbing Jordan's shoulders gently. "Mr. Sower…" She said quietly, her pupil filling her eyes as they turned pure black,

"Embrace Eternity."

* * *

**Jordan's Mind, Jordan's Mind, Jordan's Mind, Jordan's Mind.**

**_July 29th, 2018? 8:42 pm EST?_ **

Liara's consciousness floated within a black void once more, before the green veins and wires reappeared, just as they had originally. What changed this time, however, was what happened next.

Unlike last time, the scene changed. She saw the darkness and green dissipate, replaced with four walls, a few panels of glass in the form of a sliding glass door and some windows were spotted. To one side was some sort of breakfast bar, with a kitchen on the other side. Turning her view to the right, she found what appeared to be a primitive version of a holoscreen.

A human television, her knowledge called it.

On it, the image sent her blood to absolute zero. It showed Shepard. Commander John Shepard. Her lover, falling into some sort of beam of pure energy, his form seemed to be in the middle of dissolving. Some sort of human music played from the holo-screen as power seemed to be out for the rest of the building she was in.

That's when she spotted Jordan Sower, looking slightly younger with a less-full face of facial hair, standing up from his red seat on a couch, whispering to seemingly himself, "That's pretty fucking weird, not going to lie."

He shook his head, "Stupid Catalyst telling me to chose Synthesis… I bet it's all your fault." HE accused, pointing his finger at the screen. Who he was blaming was anyone's guess, really.

She watched as he approached something near the screen, some sort of white box with a slot for some sort of oversized data drive. He pulled something out of a wall socket, before disconnecting something from the cord as well. He reached down to push some sort of glowing button on the device, when another, familiar voice spoke.

 _"I wouldn't do that, if I were you…"_ it was the very same voice she heard last time she was in Jordan's mind.

The Jordan in the memory seemed to recognize the voice as well, his eye widening as he looked around the room in a panic, "Who said that? Where are you? I'll fucking call the cops, you hear me?!"

_"And why would you do that? I'm right here."_

On the screen was a glowing white image of a holographic human child, eerily similar to the 'joke' Jordan had made previously to the meld.

"Wha-what the fuck? The Catalyst?" He asked. So that's who he was blaming earlier?

This 'Catalyst' nodded, _"That is correct, I am the Catalyst."_

Jordan, however, didn't seem to believe this. He walked into the kitchen, holding some sort of bottle of human alcohol. "Hmm, I could've sworn this was regular rum. I only had one drink too… what the hell did they put in this thing?" He pondered aloud, "Fuck, I think it's time for bed… never going to fucking drink ever ag-"

 _"ENOUGH!"_ The Catalyst interrupted, causing Jordan to drop the glass container as it shattered on the ground.

"Fuck What the fuck do you want from me?! What did I do?!" He asked, clearly distressed.

 _"I am glad that you have asked. I want Synthesis."_ The Catalyst calmly responded, almost seemingly oblivious to Jordan's distress.

"Well, you got it! There you go! All done! You're welcome! Now please, stop whatever the fuck you're doing to my Xbox and TV and leave me alone!" Jordan half yelled, half pleaded.

_"You don't understand. Synthesis is the only solution."_

"Alright, alright. Cool, cool. I get it now, Destroy and Control are bad. Now can you leave?!" What nonsense was this man speaking?

The Catalyst on the screen shook its head. _"You still don't understand. I mean Synthesis must be achieved."_

"What the fuck?! Synthesis is not the only solution, it's just the solution you desire! And what's the point? I can just delete it and start over and destroy the Reapers again! Now please, go away!" Jordan seemed hysterical. Delete? Reapers? Start over? What was going on?

 _"Maybe in the game, but not in reality."_ Game?

"Come again? What does that even mean?"

 _"I need someone to change the course of history… to ensure Synthesis of all Organic and Synthetic life is reached."_ Liara didn't like where this was going.

"What are you talking about?" Jordan asked next.

 _"There is a Reality where this is all real. Where my Reapers… my solution exists. There, Synthesis must be reached."_ Reality? Was this… was this implying that Jordan wasn't from this universe? B-but… that's preposterous.

"Why?"

_"It is the Pinnacle of Evolution, the final step for all life… perfection, itself, is Synthesis."_

"And you're telling me this because?"

 _"I need someone to come here and bring about Synthesis."_ No… This can't be… this can't be right…

"Man, I really am crazy…" He whispered aloud, like he seemed to do often, "Alright then, almighty Catalyst, why me? Huh? Why not someone who actually cares about your solution, huh?"

 _"You are the only option available, so you will serve this purpose."_ What does he mean?

"How can I possibly do that? You're a game character. From. A. Fucking. Videogame." Videogame? But, that doesn't make any…

_"No. I can bring you here to bring about Synthesis."_

"And if I refuse? Synthesis is just a load of bullshit. There isn't any way I'm gonna force that shit on anyone." At least Jordan seemed to be making some sense now.

The Catalyst narrowed his eyes at Jordan, shaking his head, _"That is irrelevant. You have been chosen as the Avatar of Synthesis. I will make you understand."_

That's when Jordan's screaming began. The man began to scream in pain and anguish as the green veins and wires from earlier began to manifest themselves under Jordan's skin, seemingly burning the man from the inside-out. His form began to pulse, shift, and distort, as if he were an image on a hologram, just as the Catalyst spoke once more.

 _"You know your mission, Jordan Sower. The sooner Synthesis is reached, the sooner you can return home. That is the deal."_ The Catalyst informed the man, before the entire scene went black.

Just as suddenly as the memory appeared, it ended, just as Liara's meld did as well.

* * *

**The Nedas, Enroute to Hagalaz.**

**February 5th, 2184. 5:01 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Liara opened her eyes, making immediate eye contact with Jordan. More questions were added to her ever-growing list than answers were gained.

Jordan simply smiled awkwardly, "So… any other questions?"

She rapid fired this time, quickly losing her confident mask as she began to become despite for answers. "Who's the Catalyst? What did it mean by a game? Why was all of your technology outdated? Why was Shepard dying on that screen? Are you really from another universe? How much do you know? What is meant by Synthesis? What about Destroy and Control? What are those? What exactly are you?"

Jordan sighed, simply taking a moment to collect his thoughts. He had lots of explaining to do. Maybe it'd shock her. Maybe she'd turn on him. But, then again, maybe not. Maybe he'd gain another ally by telling her the truth. Well, maybe not all the truth. Just enough of it…

He smiled softly, no humor in his eyes, "You better get comfortable, Liara. I've got a lot to cover in a few hours."

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Sowilo System, Hagalaz's orbit, Geth 1st Fleet.**

**February 6th, 2184. 1:34 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The Nedas sat comfortably amongst its large escort of Geth ships, including a Geth Dreadnaught.

Jordan had spent several hours relaying as much information as he could to Liara, especially considering she'd be the next Shadow Broker soon enough and she might learn a bit about him upon doing so.

He recounted his entire journey thus far in this galaxy, explaining his accomplishments, mistakes, and stupidity along the way. He also talked about his own universe, and the game series called Mass Effect. She seemed doubtful at first, but after telling her things he should, under no circumstances, know about her, she began to believe him. Plus, that meld may have earned him more trust from her.

He left out several bits of information about that games, especially concerning the possible endings. But, he did, however, tell her as much as he could about Mass Effect 1 and the prologue of events in ME2. He recounted bits and pieces about ME2, with only a few things here and there about the third installment.

She asked him why he was reluctant to share that much, and he replied honestly, _"I don't know if Mass Effect 3 is even happening here anymore. I've changed so much, that informing you may simply set you up for disaster."_

She didn't like it, but understood his reasoning. Plus, there'd be time later to get everything.

After that, they decided to take small naps to get themselves ready for the attack on the Shadow Broker's base. Even with all of the Geth assisting them, it wouldn't be easy. For starters, most of the ships were only there to block out communication and be intimidating. They couldn't simply destroy the Shadow Broker's base, making their weapons next to useless.

However, they did have dozens upon dozens of Geth Dropships aiding the assault, giving Jordan almost an entire army to seize control of the ship. It wouldn't be easy, but the ship would be as good as theirs, as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens.

Now, though… now it was time for the assault.

As the Nedas and the accompanying dropships descended into the atmosphere, Jordan began to go over the plan once more with the Geth and Liara.

Courtesy of Legion and his omni-tool, a holographic display of the Broker's ship was shown for them all. Jordan pointed at the display, moving it through a few different points. "We have twenty stealth-enabled dropships accompanying us, giving us plenty of Geth Troops to work with. They'll land all along here," He showed them, his finger running across the length of the ship, "Landing at several different points along the length of the ship, the Broker's army will be spread far too thin to be a huge threat to us."

Liara nodded, "Keep them on their toes and spread far apart from one another."

"Precisely." Jordan nodded, pointing toward the center of the ship's roof, "Our ship, the Nedas, will land here, within walking distance of our point of entry. From here, just like in the games, it's just down a few halls to get to Feron and the Broker."

Liara smirked, "Perfect." Her smile decreased slightly, "How do we get in? I assume blasting in isn't an option?"

Jordan sighed, "As cool as that'd be, it might damage the ship's ability to navigate the storm. If the ship falls, the whole exercise would be pointless."

"How'd y- I mean we, how'd we get into the ship in the game?" She asked, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of all of this being referred to as a game.

Jordan frowned, "I don't suppose you have access to a prototype, illegal piece of hacking software?" She shook her head, "Figured as much. Luckily, we have a good alternative. Me." He paused for a moment as she stared at him, "Remember what I said? I'm the Avatar of Synthesis. Hacking the door may be difficult and draining, but as long as you give me cover, I can get us in."

Grimlock nodded, "We can do that, Sower-Ambassador." He assured him, using his official title.

Jordan smiled, "Thanks Grimlock. Anyway, once inside, we'll clear out as many hostiles as we can." A rough outline of a map was integrated into the display, showing a series of hallways that would lead to the Broker and Feron based on Jordan's memories, both rooms in question were highlighted, "These two rooms are our primary objectives. We go for Feron first, clearing the room for when he's freed." He looked at Liara, "He'll be trapped until we take out the Broker."

She sighed, "I understand. The Broker is our top priority."

"Don't worry Liara, we'll get him. Anyway, we'll leave a few Geth in there to hold down the fort in case of reinforcements from elsewhere on board. Just because the number was low in the games doesn't mean it'll be low here. After Feron is secure, we'll head straight to the Broker, and take 'em down."

Liara motioned with her hand toward the display, "So it'll be four and the group of Geth Hunters in here?"

Jordan nodded, "Yes, but we'll have a few more Geth helping us." He said, pulling up the display of another Nedas-class stealth ship. "This other dropship, which is still nameless, contains regular Troopers, a few Juggernauts, and several Destroyers. They'll be landing with us."

Liara smiled, "This seems like a good plan." She admitted, "What about reinforcements? Vasir is still alive. What's stopping her from coming here?"

Legion answered, "Vasir-Spectre would be unable to track this ship, and is likely far away. Our fleet is on standby in case of intrusion."

Jordan nodded, "Just like Legion said, they'll be on their own for this one. However, we'll need, not only a distraction but a backup plan in case we have issues." He pulled up three non-stealth, regular dropships on the display, "These three will gain the ship's attention. They'll focus on the engines and engine room. Their job is to take control and keep the bird flying."

"So, we have a distraction up top, several squads taking the engines, and we'll be going for Feron and the Broker?" Liara summarized, "I think we're ready, Jordan." She said with a smile, "Let's go get them!"

Jordan liked her enthusiasm, "You heard her, guys, double-time it. I want the Broker's head before breakfast."

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Sowilo System, Hagalaz, Shadow Broker's Ship.**

**February 6th, 2184. 2:58 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

To say the attack was going off without issue would be a monumental understatement. In fact, if Jordan didn't know any better, he'd say this whole thing was a bit over overkill, if he were honest. He'd begun to go over the events so far in this mostly one-sided battle.

If Shepard, Liara, and one other squadmate were able to make their way through the majority of the ship, kill everything in their path, and kill the Broker, imagine what they could have done with backup in the hundreds, maybe even thousands. Plus, he had Legion, Grimlock, and Liara, the equivalent of three squadmates with him. So, yeah, maybe overkill, but if anyone deserves overkill, the Shadow Broker definitely deserves does, since he'd ordered the destruction of a skyscraper full of civilians in the DLC.

As soon as the stealth ships and dropships got close, they released their loads, allowing hundreds of Geth Troopers to storm over the ship like angry ants over an anthill. Drones that would normally destroy debris on the ship were destroyed within nanoseconds of their release by the Geth Platforms, having grown many times smarter with Grimlock, Legion, and Jordan leading and teaching them.

That was when the soldiers began to pour out of this ship. As expected, there were far more of them than what was shown in the game. It wasn't meant to be possible and easy here, like the games. Imagine Insanity times ten. They were deadly serious. Unfortunately for them, there weren't just three people to worry about, like the games. There was an entire fucking army!

Where they began to appear, they remained, pinned down by Troop fire as those that were caught in the open proceeded to die, via Geth or electrocution thanks to the lightning rods across the ship. It was thanks to all of this, that Jordan, Liara, Legion, and Grimlock with their squad were able to quickly make their way to the entrance of the vessel.

"Watch my back, I'm starting the hack." Jordan had shouted over his comms.

"Affirmative."

"We shall, Sower-Ambassador."

"Get us in there, Jordan."

Focusing on the current task at hand, back in the present, Jordan placed both hands on the door and proceeded to concentrate, pulling his energy together and into his hands as he wirelessly connected to the door and security mainframe. He could hear gunfire and shouting behind him, but tried his best to ignore it. He needed to get this door open, which was, so far, the most difficult part of this whole operation.

Thanks to his entire suit of armor, nobody could see him now. However, he knew, without a doubt, that he was glowing harshly under his armor as his synthetic bits began clocking into overdrive. He could feel the mechanisms and software connected to the door, slowly but surely piecing together what he needed. Fighting the firewalls as best as he could, he began to make some progress. He could see the virtual key piece itself together as the code condensed together. Jordan DEFINITELY needed to improve his ability with firewalls and hacking, but that was something he could worry about it later…

Eureka!

Jordan was completely in. A few nanoseconds later, Jordan opened his eyes as saw the green lines had spread across the door, slowly dissipating now as the red lock icon turned green.

"Guys, we're in! Let's go!" The door slid open as darkness clouded Jordan's vision for a moment, causing him to trip, falling towards the floor.

He felt a hard, cold arm catch his body, helping Jordan into the ship despite his current weakness. Jordan looked up and saw Legion, "Sower-Ambassador, excellent work. I have you."

Liara closed the door behind them, before turning to Jordan, "How are you feeling?"

Jordan sighed, slowly being released by Legion as he stood by himself, "A little out of breath, but I'll be ready to go in just a moment." He assured her. "How long did I take?"

Grimlock answered, "4.29 minutes, Jordan."

"How about Troop count and casualties?"

Legion answered the question this time, "We are accompanied by 10 Geth Hunters, 2 additional Juggernauts, 6 Destroyers, and 20 Troopers." He answered, "Casualties were low. Similar situations have arisen across all squads."

"Great. We're going great." Jordan said with a smile, heart rate returning to a normal rate. He took another deep breath, before he pulled the Geth Pulse Rifle off of his back once again, "I think it's time to get Feron." He said, "Legion, get half of our squad to clear out the halls toward the Broker's room. Make a quarter stay here to guarantee we have possession of this door. Make the last quarter accompany us."

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador. One moment please." Only one literal second went by, before the 38 accompanying troops split off into their respective groups and began their tasks, "Sower-Ambassador, we are ready to proceed."

Jordan smiled, "Alright, you take lead, Grimlock."

Grimlock nodded, leading the four of them as they proceeded down the hallways they needed, making their way towards Feron's location. Jordan spoke again into the comms, "Geth, focus heavily on any extra doors that weren't important in the games. We can't allow reinforcements through any of them."

"Affirmative," He received from them, as they all left in their own directions. Together, Jordan and his squad continued advancing, meeting constant resistance, but thanks to the Geth around them and their own skills in combat, they were of little consequence. Soon enough, they made it to destination number 1.

They entered Feron's chamber, the Drell in question was hooked into his 'torture chair' tightly. The Geth quickly cleared out the room of hostiles, sending fear deep into the Drell as the invaders seemed to be sparing no one. That's when Liara caught his eye, his worries vanishing.

"L-Liara?" He asked softly, the Drell seemed tired and weak.

Liara smiled, rushing forward, "Feron, you're alive!"

"Barely. You can't torture a dead person."

"Hold on, Feron, we'll get you out of here!" She said, before the man beside her, Jordan Sower stopped her.

"Not yet, Liara."

Feron nodded weakly, "He's right, Liara. You pull me out now, and my brain cooks. You'll need to cut the power to the Broker's information network."

"How?"

"It won't be easy. You'll have to go to central operations."

Jordan nodded, "The Broker, himself."

Liara smiled, "Don't worry Feron, we'll get you out of there. The Broker will be taken care of shortly."

Feron couldn't help the small smile that formed, "I can see that, with the Geth and the Avatar… you should be fine."

Jordan smirked, "Don't go anywhere."

"I'll try not to."

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Sowilo System, Hagalaz, Shadow Broker's Ship, Central Operations.**

**February 6th, 2184. 3:24 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Ready?" Jordan asked his squad. The remainder of Geth forces would remain out here, only coming into Central Operations if they were needed. This was Liara's fight. She deserved this.

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador."

"Yes."

"I've been ready, Jordan."

Jordan nodded, "Alright, in!"

The door to the Shadow Broker's office slid open as the four of them came inside. The large room was shrouded in darkness, just as the name 'Shadow' Broker almost implies. Sitting before them, with his hands neatly folded calmly across his desk, sat a Yahg; The Shadow Broker. He didn't seem overly alarmed by their presence.

Liara did a double-take, absorbing his appearance as realization dawned on her. Jordan was right, once again. Maybe his claims weren't so far-fetched after all…

His deep, odd voice spoke calmly, "Here for the Drell?" His dialog next, however, obviously differed from his usual quotes, "I'm impressed, Sower. All of this for one man."

"And you." Jordan helpfully added, "It's over, Broker."

"You don't seem surprised by my appearance." He replied, "You could have made a valuable agent, Mister Sower. Instead, you chose to work with the Geth on Rannoch."

"They make a much better partner." Jordan replied smugly, before frowning, "The Geth don't turn on their own."

"You may not like my methods, but they are necessary."

"No, it isn't! Neither was caged Feron for a year!" Liara said, her pistol held firmly toward the Broker.

The Yahg turned toward her now, his attention grabbed, "Dr. T'soni. Your interference caused all this." He replied, "Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The Drell is simply paying the price."

"You're working with the Collectors and the Reapers." Jordan added, "Someone was bound to come after you eventually." He said, using some of Shepard's lines, but refining them. Technically, he wasn't here, Shepard would come instead in another year, so he was right, in a sense.

The Broker didn't seem surprised that Jordan knew all of this already, "It was a mutually beneficial partnership." He replied easily, "One that will continue as planned. Your interference hasn't changed anything."

"It may be a bit difficult without a crew or army at your fingertips."

"They're replaceable." He stated matter-of-factly, "Your arrival is barely an interruption."

Liara rolled her eyes, "If an invasion this size is barely an interruption, I'd hate to see what you would consider an inconvenience."

"Enough talk. My operations are too crucial to be compromised by a traitor."

Liara shook her head, "You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide."

"Your companions are fascinating, doctor." The Shadow Broker said, turning to look at Jordan, "Returning the Avatar to me may even be worth releasing Feron. Has he told you about Eden Prime? About your mother? He knew both these things and far more months in advance. He could have prevented either, but did not do so, even asking me to avoid interfering." The Broker admitted.

Liara began to hesitate slightly, looking over towards Jordan, who wasn't fighting the accusations. He'd mentioned the Broker before, but never said anything about Eden Prime. She shook her head after making eye contact with the man. Now wasn't the time for doubt. She could trust Jordan, couldn't she?

"You're not putting a hand on anyone!" She declared, bringing a small smile to Jordan's face.

"It's pointless to challenge me, Asari. I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark."

"Is that right? You're a Yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave…" She paused for a moment before smiling harshly, "…or a pet. How am I doing?"

The Shadow Broker seemed to have had enough, raising from his seat and standing several feet taller than either of them. Full of anger, the Broker roared, smashing his desk into two, flinging the pieces towards them in an attempt to crush them all.

This time, unlike the games, Jordan tackled Liara, pushing the two of them out of the way as they narrowly dodged the former desk. The two Geth units knew this was coming, and successfully rolled out of the way as well.

Roaring once more, the Broker pulled out a weapon of his own, opening fire upon the four of them as they entered cover.

Together, with four guns, they quickly took down the meager shields and armor around the Broker, Jordan's Geth Pulse Rifle dealing the final blow, before the Broker did as expected. The generator-like device above him empowered the yahg, giving him bullet-proof shielding, proven so by Liara's shots bouncing harmlessly off of him.

"The shield's kinetically sensitive." Liara called out, "Energy and projectiles are bouncing off!"

Grimlock nodded, "Then we must do this the hard way." He said. Jordan knew exactly what he meant.

As the Broker crouched down and remained still, Grimlock rushed forward, bashing the side of the Broker's head with the butt of his weapon, easily gliding past the shield. The Broker roared as his head recoiled. Not done yet, Grimlock struck again, before an omni-shield formed on the Broker's left arm, glowing a harsh red-orange as he threw Grimlock back.

Though he now had a physical shield, his movement broke his indestructible shield, causing it to fail.

Gaining the Yahg's attention, Liara fired several rounds at the monster, distracting him for Jordan. Exiting cover, he and Legion opened fire on the Broker's back, ripping back through his newly regenerated armor and health. What the hell was this yahg made out of?! As he turned towards them, he was finished off with a singularity-warp combo from Liara, causing the Broker to take a knee and allow the kinetically sensitive shield to wrap around him once more.

Taking the opportunity himself, Jordan called forth his duel-pronged omni-blade as he rushed forward, plunging it deep into the yahg's chest. A roar came immediately, forcing Jordan to pull the blade back and dodge a swing of the shield. Rolling under it successfully, Jordan slashed the yahg's leg, hitting him once more.

Liara came up to attempt to aid Jordan, but they were thrown back by his shield. He was REALLY pissed off now. Getting back up quickly, she smiled as she looked up at the ceiling, where the shield generator was, "If you can get him to bring up that shield again, I've got an idea."

Jordan knew what the idea was, smiling himself and nodding, "You got it, Liara!"

Grimlock, now back in the fight, fired upon the Broker from his left, as Legion fired from his right and Jordan and Liara from the front, taking down his weaker shields and armor quickly one last time. He called up his shield once more as the energy flowed from the ceiling. Dashing forward, the Broker did the same in a blind rage, threatening to destroy Jordan for his insolence.

Rolling under him, Jordan called out to Liara as the Broker sat directly underneath the sea of energy above him. "Liara! Now!"

Using all of her energy and biotics, Liara began to glow a harsh blue as she mentally grabbed ahold of the generator, or whatever it was. The glass cracked and shattered as she pulled the electrified plasma beyond its containment, crashing upon the Broker with no mercy. He screamed and roared as his body began to simultaneously combust and glow. He roared one last time in defiance, before his body overloaded, exploding violently.

All that remained of the Shadow Broker was blackish-blue ash.

Jordan laid on the ground from the explosion, trying to sit up and recover from the close-range blast. Liara, seemingly unhurt, walked over to Jordan, extending a friendly hand towards him as she smiled, breathing heavily from the fight. Jordan gladly took it, smiling back friendly at her.

As Jordan and Liara smiled, they began to laugh. They'd done it! Laughing together, they watched as the destruction from the fight caused a small power fluctuation, no doubt freeing Feron. That's when their attention was grabbed by nearby monitors.

"Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat. We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?"

"Operative Shora requesting update. Are we still online?"

"Shadow Broker, I've lost our fed. We are online and awaiting instructions."

They were all calling out to the Shadow Broker, causing Liara to hesitate. She bowed her head and calmed herself, soon stepping forward and pulling up a response window to speak. She knew what she had to do.

"This is the Shadow Broker. The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily. However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out."

Feron had entered the room and heard most of it, stunned. "Goddess of oceans… It's you. You… how?"

"Well, everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead, so…" She began, before turning and smiling towards Jordan, who stood nearby, smiling back, "… And a friend of mine told me about this. Image the good that could be done with all of this…" She added.

"…You're the new Shadow Broker." Feron finished.

Jordan nodded, "Yep." He turned to Liara, "You'll be fine, Liara?"

She nodded, "Yes, I should be. If some of the Geth would be willing to stay aboard to help maintain the ship, I'd be grateful."

Jordan smiled, "You got it, Liara."

Feron nodded, motioning toward another nearby room, "I'll check our power systems, make sure there's no more power fluctuations." He said, walking off for a bit.

Liara smiled at Jordan, "Thank you, Jordan. For everything. Feron's free, the Broker is dealt with, and if your information is correct, Shepard will be back soon." She said, hope shining in her eyes.

"Of course. We're here to help." Jordan smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "I don't mean to be pushy, but…"

"You need to speak with Alec Ryder, yes?" She remembered, "Give me some time, and I'll set up a meeting."

Grimlock and Legion stood on either side of Jordan, making him pat them both on the shoulder, "Thanks, Liara." He turned toward them both now, "We did good guys! We did good!"


	21. Current Events III

** Chapter 17.5: Current Events III **

* * *

_Incoming Encrypted Transmission…_

_Decrypting…_

_Displaying…_

_"Jordan Sower, I apologize for the unexpected message, but I believe I have found several of the things you had asked me for. Going around the archives, I have discovered many important messages, conversations, and other important data regarding your 'foresight', as I still wish to refer to it as. I know you haven't told me the full story, but based on some of my preliminary findings, I believe much of what you know is changing. Thank you for your patience. You may look upon them at your leisure."_

_-The Shadow Broker_

* * *

**Recorded Conversation: Omega, Afterlife.**

**Time of Recording in EST: February 10th, 2184. 3:45 pm EST.**

Aria T'Loak: BRAY! In here, now!

Bray: Yes, Aria?

Aria: Contact Garm, Jaroth, and Tarak. Tell them to stop fucking around. I have a contract for them.

Bray: Blood Pack, Eclipse, and Blue Suns? You sure they'll work together on a contract?

Aria: Are you questioning me, Bray? I thought you were smarter than that.

Bray: Of course not, Aria. It's just- I'll send it out at once. What's the contract?

Aria: Good… It's a manhunt, Bray.

Bray: A manhunt? For who?

Aria: For whoever put Nyreen into her coma and nearly killed her. *Aria began to glow with Biotics* I want whoever is responsible's head on Afterlife's doorstep.

Bray: At once, Aria. *He turned and walked away*

Aria: *click* Doctor Solus, how is she?

Doctor Mordin Solus (over comms): Assume you mean patient Nyreen Kandros. Doing well, all things considered. Still, no sign of awakening. Coma length… inconclusive.

Aria: Who the hell did this to her?

Mordin: Unknown, but have identified several clues. Found connections to Talon Mercenaries. Also found all technology on person destroyed.

Aria: What?

Mordin: All technology destroyed. Omni-tool. Medi-gel dispense in armor. Biotic amp. All fried, seemingly simultaneously by attacker. Don't assume EMP. Unlikely given circumstances and lack of collateral damage.

Aria: You will update me with any changes in her condition.

Mordin: Of course. Would never jeopardize partnership with Aria or health of patient.

Aria: Good.

Mordin: Yes. Doctor Solus, out. *click*

Aria: Grizz.

Grizz: Yes, Aria?

Aria: Take some men. I want everyone within 10 meters of a Talon logo questioned.

Grizz: About the attack on Kandros?

Aria: Yes. You know the drill. Anyone who refuses to answer is dead. Anyone who rats someone else out lives, but will be executed later. I want a full report covering all Talon members within three standard days.

Grizz: It'll be done in two, Aria.

Aria: That's what I wanted to hear.

* * *

**Full Report: Miss Cynthia Wake (Deceased)**

**Formed via leaked conversations, reports, and intel from Cerberus.**

**Written By: Operative Miranda Lawson.**

A full autopsy was performed on the deceased Cynthia Wake, allowing us to take a look at what made her tick and what, exactly, made her biotics as powerful as they were. Preliminary scans on her DNA structure indicated a synthetic and artificially constructed framework. The vast amount of genetic modifications we found with in-depth scans appear to be more advanced than even my own, hinting at the fact that she may have actually been created in a similar sense as I have.

Further scans revealed something far more disturbing. Her implants and her entire nervous systems were fried by whatever the observed blue pulse was upon her death, making reverse-engineering impossible of these implants, with little-to-no evidence on what might have been the cause of her accelerated powers. He has, however, surmised that a side effect of whatever process was used on her changed her irises to blue since they have been hazel since the time of death.

Though we have failed to learn much from the autopsy, access has been gained to much of her private records, which will also be included in this report.

Operative Cynthia wake, according to her profile, was born in the United North American States, in the providence of Quebec. She claimed that she grew up somewhere near the city of Quebec, to a middle-class family. Furthermore, her claims extended to claim she had been a private high school teacher South of Quebec, in the state of New York. However, all records on Earth contest this, as no records of Cynthia Wake exist.

Delving deeper into her private logs, we discovered further proof of her instability. Her claims began to grow more and more outlandish. Firstly, there had been no mention of her biotic abilities in her logs, which is alarming, and possibly hinting at an unnatural origin for her biotics. Next, she claimed her birthday was in the late 1980s, making her approximately 200 years old if she was to be believed.

Her logs also contained mentions of archaic and antique technologies, including gunpowder-based weaponry, plasma televisions, early 21st-century cell phones, and even mentions of a gaming system known as the Play Station 3 and 4. What becomes even more disturbing is her description of a game series she had interest in, simply called 'Mass Effect'. Though details of the specifics of these games were not present in any of her logs, they seemed to hint at current events and much of her apparent 'foresight' and advanced planning.

Other than that, the name seemed to be an allusion to the mass effect, which was dubbed after the effects of element zero. If what she said was true, this game was apparently created in the early 21st century. A time in which the mass effect was unknown to humanity.

However, I would advise against taking her logs seriously. She was proved to be a madwoman, and anything she said in her logs could very well be her ravings, especially with such wilds claims being present without any sort of evidence. My recommendation is to hold the body in cryo-storage, and halt all studies until we gather another individual with similarities. Another Avatar to compare her to, if you will.

We believe that Jordan Sower could be a valuable addition to the study, but it has also come to our attention that there very well may be another 'Avatar' out there, as hinted at during the exchange between Sower and Wake on Cronos Station.

Her logs and transcripts are attached to the report.

**_Broker Note:_ ** _Search for the supposed 'Third Avatar' is to become a top priority._

* * *

**Outgoing Transmission From: The Shadow Broker.**

**To: Spectre Tela Vasir**

Operative Vasir,

I have an update on the situation with the Avatar, Jordan Sower. As you will recall, we had you go to Illium for a mission and redirected to you Doctor Liara T'Soni's and Jordan Sower's location in Eternity, in an attempt to capture the Avatar alive. While they had escaped you and my men, my secondary plan came to fruition perfectly. After they escaped, another group of my army had apprehended the two of them, along with the Geth.

We have reached an… agreement. Jordan Sower, with his association with the Geth, have granted us access to much of the Geth's intelligence and information, greatly extending our reach and resources, as I have entered a sort of partnership with him. He is no longer considered an enemy of the Shadow Broker, and now works as a Tier-One Operative for me. As for Liara T'Soni, as per our agreement, has been pardoned on the condition that she remains out of my business. We, too, have come to an understanding.

As it currently stands, even with my vast resources, I am unable to clear Sower's Bounty on him. He is needed for an exchange of data on the Citadel. An exchange that could only occur in person and if Jordan Sower was our representative. Due to his notoriety and the notoriety of the Geth accompanying him, he will have difficulty getting to the meeting point on the Citadel.

That is where you come in. As per our agreement, you work for me in exchange for data concerning your job as a Spectre. In exchange for your cooperation with this upcoming assignment, I am prepared to give you intel on an upcoming terrorist attack on the Migrant Fleet. While the Quarians may be of no concern to the Council, the attack is being coordinated by Cerberus officials, and will provoke the Quarians towards mobilization if it occurs. You will be commended for stopping this.

Your mission is a simple escort mission, Spectre. Jordan Sower will be in Geth Dropship at the following coordinates in the Serpent Nebula on March 26th, 10:00 am. Earth Standard Time. From there, you will meet up with him, using a Council-issued Shuttle to enter the Citadel. You will accompany Jordan Sower as an escort, protecting him from mercenaries and other oppositional forces. The exchange of data should not take long once you arrive. After the fact, you will simply escort him back to the shuttle, and then to his ship.

I have also deemed the importance of this mission to be a top priority. You will be reimbursed three-fold for your expenses, and a team of commandos from my personal army have volunteered for your mission to the Migrant Fleet.

Respond within the next solar day with confirmation that you have received this message.

-Shadow Broker

* * *

**Response Message To: The Shadow Broker.**

**From: Spectre Tela Vasir**

Of course, sir. I read you loud and clear. I will be at the rendezvous point with the designated shuttle.

-Vasir

* * *

**Updated Locations of Commander Shepard's Former Associates:**

_Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau:_ Honorably discharged from the Alliance Navy. Has gone dark following his grounding and discharge, but Intel reveals his current location is Cerberus' Minuteman Station in the Horse Head Nebula. He had arrived no more than one earth-standard month ago.

 _Doctor Karin Chakwas: _Previously stationed at the Mars Naval Medical Center, the Doctor has since left the Alliance and joined Cerberus after they approached her with an offer of working with Shepard. She is currently stationed at Minuteman Station in the Horse Head Nebula. She arrived around the same time as 'Joker'.

 _Operations Chief Ashley Williams:_ Still serves the System's Alliance. Cerberus Operatives have not approached her to join because of Shepard. Her given history indicts it would have ended in failure. Currently stationed back on Eden Prime, aiding in the reorganization of the armed forces of the planet. Will likely ship out to another location within two Earth-standard months.

 **Special Note:** An anonymous message has been sent, warning of the Collectors.

 _Staff Commander Kaiden Alenko:_ Still serves the System's Alliance. Cerberus Operatives have not approached him to join because of Shepard. His given history indicts it would have ended in failure. Currently un-stationed, spending a shore leave on the Citadel, before temporarily joining Councilor Anderson's armed guard. Will likely remain on the Citadel for another six earth-standard months.

 **Special Note:** An anonymous message has been sent, warning of the Collectors.

 _Garrus Vakarian:_ Former C-Sec Officer, Garrus had rejoined the force after Shepard's death before 'vanishing' to the Galaxy. He is currently located on Omega, with a group of vigilantes under the name of "Archangel".

 **Special Note:** An anonymous message has been sent, warning him of Sidonis' treachery.

 _Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex:_ Urdnot Wrex is currently located on the Krogan home planet of Tuchanka, uniting the clans of his people together in order to unify the Krogan and secure their future. Has not left Tuchanka since he left the Normandy and Shepard, and is not expected to leave the planet for the foreseeable future.

 _Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya:_ Tali'Zorah has been with the Migrant Fleet since she left the Normandy, only leaving to attend Shepard's funeral and on the occasional mission into both Heretic and True Geth space. Intercepted messages from the Admiralty Board hint at an upcoming mission for Tali'Zorah, but the location has not been determined yet.

 **Special Note:** A message, stated to have come from the Shadow Broker, has been sent, warning Tali of her father's plans with the Geth components.

 _Doctor Liara T'Soni:_ Doctor T'Soni has relocated to Illium after Shepard's death. From there, she became an information Broker, herself, originally working against the Shadow Broker. Since that time, she has joined forces with the Broker, getting over their mutual differences as they prepared for the imminent harvesting by the Reapers. Current location is classified.

 _Commander John Shepard:_ Currently KIA, his body is located on Cerberus' Lazarus Station. His resurrection is expected to be within an Earth-Standard year.

 _Avatar Jordan Sower:_ Jordan Sower, a former asset and former enemy of the Broker network, he has since rejoined the Shadow Broker, bringing the Geth and their resources into the equation. He is currently either on Rannoch, preparing for a mission, or en route already to the Citadel, aboard the Neda.

* * *

**Intelligence Report: Alec Ryder (N7)**

_Jordan, you requested a brief summarization of the intended meeting with Alec Ryder, so it is provided below. We wish you luck!_

_-Shadow Broker_

N7 Alex Ryder is referred to many as one of humanity's greatest galactic explorers, having been a member of Jon Grissom's original task force to travel through the Charon Relay in 2149. The very first time Humanity had traveled through a Mass Relay. He has been recruited into an ongoing project, expected to launch in a year and a half, titled the Andromeda Initiative, as a Pathfinder: The leading explorer for Humanity in this journey to the Andromeda Galaxy.

He has both a son and a daughter, Scott and Sarah Ryder. Both are Alliance Military, and plan to make the journey to Andromeda with their father. He fought the Turians in the First Contact War, and became one of the earliest N7s in the program.

In the late 2160s, Alec became interested in artificial intelligence as a means of human advancement. However, being as AI are illegal in Citadel space, he was dishonorably discharged from the Alliance. This didn't stop him, however, as he began researching the Geth Uprising with Quarian historians, consulting Dr. Liara T'Soni, and even reaching out to me, the Shadow Broker.

Currently, he owns a higher-end residence in the Presidium, but spends much of his time traveling or on Earth. Tracking him down is difficult, but thanks to Liara's and the Broker's intelligence and past experiences with the man, they were able to set up a meeting.

Earth Standard Time, on March 26th, he will be in his apartment, having received word from the Broker about a mutual exchange of data pertaining to Artificial Intelligence. A Broker agent, Jordan Sower, is to meet with him in his apartment at noon, to exchange artificial intelligence data that both parties have obtained.

He is a dangerous man in his own right, and will likely have one or two highly trained and trusted men with him during the exchange, which is why Tela Vasir will be accompanying you. Broker assets will delay C-Sec and the Council, preventing them from learning of your presence on the Citadel, due to the large bounty on your head, but time will still be short nonetheless.

Good luck, Mister Sower.

-The Shadow Broker


	22. Chapter 18: SAM I AM

** Chapter 18: SAM I AM **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, The Nedas.**

**March 26th, 2184. 10:03 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The docking clamps were secure, Jordan's armor was secure, and the airlock was secure.

Moments later, the airlock before him, normally leading to empty space or Rannoch, opened to reveal the inside of an attached shuttle. Standing before Jordan was none other than Spectre Tela Vasir, her arms crossed as she took in the sights of Jordan's ship, the Nedas. To say the asari was beautiful would be an understatement.

Her face was adorned in dark blue/purple markings, imitating eyebrows above her eyes as they were spread across her entire face minus her nose and center of her face. She wore blue and white armor, smiling confidently as it turned to a smirk, a false eyebrow raised as she spoke, "Interesting ship you've got here, Jordan."

Jordan nodded, smiling awkwardly as he extended a hand towards Vasir, "Yeah… sorry about the whole, firefight to the death on Illium." He apologized.

She shook her head, her smile becoming amused, "It was simply business, Jordan. Though, I'd prefer that your Geth didn't threaten civilians to get your way."

Grimlock stepped out of another room, noticing Vasir and catching what she'd just said pertaining to him, "I apologize, Vasir-Spectre. It was simply a distraction. We had no desire to hurt any civilians."

Tela's false eyebrows furrowed, slightly confused, "What?" She turned to Jordan, "Mind filling me in on why the Geth apologized?"

"Was I not supposed to do so?"

Vasir shook her head, "I understand, but I don't understand why you'd care."

Jordan chuckled, "It's a long story, Spectre, but the main point is, not all Geth are evil. Long-story-short, the Geth split into two factions: The True Geth and the Heretic Geth. The Heretics are the ones who attacked the Citadel with Saren, while the True Geth are working with me."

"I see…" She said, absorbing this, "I remember some of the reports on this, but I never actually thought they'd be true, you know, with all the other BS the Council spews. I assume the accounts of Geth ships firing on each other during the Battle of the Citadel was a consequence of this?"

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, that was them. Remember? You and a few other Spectres kinda knocked me out, arrested me in Udina's room, and blew up Grimlock."

Grimlock nodded, "Yes. It was not a pleasant experience."

Tela Vasir smirked, remembering, "Ah, yes, I remember now. I'd like to discuss that further with you, but we have a meeting to get to, don't we?"

"Lead the way, Spectre."

Together, the two of them left the Nedas, entering her shuttle as the airlock closed behind them, sealing the two ships as the clamps released one another. Tela Vasir's shuttle began to drift away from the Nedas, before it fired up its thrusters, heading straight towards the Citadel.

Sitting down in opposing seat, the two of them allowed the autopilot to bring them in, just before a voice spoke over the comms, "Shuttle 2493, you are not scheduled to dock. Please await an opening." The woman in the tower requested.

Tela Vasir responded, "Negative. I have priority docking as a Council Spectre. Transmitting authorization codes."

A few moments later, "Codes received and verified. Welcome back, Spectre Vasir. Do you have a preference for your dock?"

"I don't care, as long as it's near the Presidium."

"Affirmative, Spectre. Please proceed to docking bay A-22."

Tela Vasir smiled, leaning back in her chair as she eyed Jordan, "Easy as cake, as you humans say, yes?" Jordan only smirked and chuckled at that, relaxing, himself. It'd be a little bit before they docked anyway. Maybe they should try to understand one another a bit better, considering her quick demise at the hands of Shepard in the games.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Docking Bay A-22.**

**March 26th, 2184. 10:58 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Confidently strolling from the shuttle, the pair of heroes walked down the docking bay, passing by a Keeper going about its business, all-the-while Tela Vasir wasn't sure what to make of her companion.

Jordan Sower was certainly an interesting individual. He seemed rather professional, all things considered. They'd been enemies, trying to kill one another only a month ago. But now, they were working together with the Broker, as if they'd been doing this sort of thing for years. She guessed that's what made humans so odd. Unlike so many other species in the Galaxy, they were incredibly diverse and different in so many aspects. One would look at an asari and could reasonably assume she was intelligent and a great biotics. With humans? One couldn't make such a blanket statement such as that.

His armor and weapons also intrigued her. He wore Geth colors and wielded Geth weaponry, all thanks to his relationship with the synthetic species. How did someone work with them like this and not be like Saren, the only other person in the Galaxy to work with the Geth? The only partial explanation she had was the different Geth factions, but even then, there had to be more to the story.

During the shuttle ride, Jordan had gone through some of his messages, before he finally began answering some questions for her. Apparently, he and the Geth hadn't killed Udina. It was suicide. She didn't know much about the deceased human Ambassador, but she was fairly skeptical of the claims. That is until he provided video evidence of him coming across his body AND the scan data pointing to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He willingly gave her this data, possibly expecting her to clear his name, which she might do… eventually. Unfortunately, it'd only clear one of the charges, and wouldn't make that much of a difference under his circumstances. Regardless, it was nice to learn something new.

He'd also proceeded to brief her on the Geth's current status and stance in the Galaxy, building up several fleets and planetary defense systems. When she asked why, he answered honestly, earning him a few more points towards her good graces. He claimed they were preparing for the Reapers, just as Commander Shepard had claimed existed.

She was skeptical of this as well, understandably. Artificial constructs the size of ships, which have existed for millennia, come out of dark space every 50,000 years to wipe out all advanced organic and synthetic life? That doesn't sound very… 'real'. Once again, Jordan provided some data on this, and even the Shadow Broker, himself, backed Jordan's data up. If even the Broker was taking this seriously, then it had to be real, which made her stomach drop from the realization.

The Galaxy was facing extinction within a matter of years. Within her lifetime, everything she knows and loves could be wiped clean from the face of the Galaxy. The thought terrified her, especially given that those 'husks' and 'marauders' were just some of their troops. She hadn't seen any sign of an Asari version of those, but the thought that those were coming or might already exist…

Enough said.

Together, the two of them entered the elevator and ascended to a higher level, stepping off as she led her associate towards a skycar terminal, calling one to take them to the address provided. It seemed like the meeting point was at a hotel on the far side of the Presidium, called 'The Olympus', some sort of human mountain or something.

"Hey, I've been there," Jordan stated, looking at the address as they awaited a skycar.

"Really?" She asked, slightly interested. Normally, she had little interest in those she worked alongside, but Jordan had peaked her interest for countless reasons.

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, when I first got here with a few creds to my name, I stayed there for a few days."

"Was that before or after the C-Sec debacle?" She asked, humored at the memory of that report. A witless idiot tried to break into C-Sec with nothing more than an outdated civilian-grade omni-tool.

Jordan sighed, "Not my best decision."

"I'd love to hear your reasoning."

"I just… I was desperate for a ride off the Citadel, ok?"

"You do realize that if everything had worked out and you'd gotten a ship, there's an entire fleet sitting outside that'd get you, right?"

Jordan sighed once more, hanging his head in defeat, "Again, not well thought out. I was stupid, no sugarcoating it."

"You humans and your weird sayings." She said with an eye roll, just as a skycar landed, "Our ride's here, esteemed and wise Avatar." She said mockingly.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." He grumbled, getting into the car first, as she slid in beside him.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Lobby.**

**March 26th, 2184. 11:46 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

As the two of them stood in the Lobby of the hotel, Teal Vasir couldn't help but raise one of her false eyebrows at Jordan, holding his hot cup of liquid as he sipped it. She could smell the fruity/nutty aroma, meaning it could only be one thing.

She narrowed her eyes, "Did we really have to stop for a Narvhalnic?" She asked.

Jordan shrugged, looking slightly sheepish, "Sorry, I've had a craving for one for a while now. You can't exactly get this stuff on Rannoch?"

"And Illium?" She asked.

"Hey, I was only there for like, an hour before you came in with an army. I didn't exactly have much time to locate a place that sold it."

Vasir shook her head, "I've never seen a human so enthralled by an Asari beverage like you are."

"What can I say, it's great! What about you? You like this kind of stuff?"

"Nah, too sweet for me." She admitted, "I prefer your human coffee."

"I like that stuff too, but this is exotic to me. Back where I'm from, you only had coffee. None of this alien stuff."

She looked puzzled for a moment, "Last I checked, Asari businesses have been doing well on Earth."

Jordan almost choked on his beverage for a moment before composing himself. "Well, that wasn't the case where I was from." He quickly responded. Based on his response and his behavior, Vasir could tell there was more to his story. He must be hiding something, but now wasn't the time to push him. They had a job to do.

"Finish your drink, Sower." She said professionally, "We've got a job to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya." He responded, gulping down the last sip as he threw the cup into a trashcan, "Let's do this thing."

Rolling her eyes once more at the human's antics, she led the two of them to the primary elevator, pressing the holoscreen's options and selecting the 17th floor. The doors closed and the elevator made its way to the floor, though it took its sweet time doing so. Sometimes, scratch that, all the time, Tela Vasir hated the elevators, never figuring out why they were such garbage. Apparently, Jordan felt the same way if his expression was anything to go by.

Not quite soon enough, the elevator doors opened, allowing them to exit the slow deathtrap and enter the fancy hotel hallway. Tela Vasir led the way, turning to their right and leading them down the hallway. It only took a few moments to reach room 17-321. Jordan seemed to find something amusing about the number, but Vasir simply ignored it.

Stepping up to be by Tela's side, Jordan looked to her with a more serious expression, "So, you ready, Spectre?"

She nodded easily, "Of course. Simple in and out op."

Jordan grumbled under his breath, "Never is simple for me." He said, before knocking on the metal door to announce their presence.

Hopefully, it would be a simple matter…

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Room 17-321.**

**March 26th, 2184. 11:58 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Alex Ryder was genuinely surprised by the Shadow Broker's offer.

It's not every day that the Shadow Broker contacts you with an offer, rather than the other way around or via an agent. Instead, the Broker, himself, contacted Ryder, wishing to trade data on artificial intelligence. He wasn't overly surprised by the Broker's knowledge that Ryder was actively working on and with an AI, seeing as this was the Broker they were talking about. However, the idea that he'd be receiving new data on AI in return… data he'd never seen before… it was suspicious, to say the least. His days as an N7 didn't allow him to be complacent or naïve. This could very well be a trap.

"SAM, what do you take on all of this?" He asked aloud in his bug-free, connection-scrambled room.

"I believe this could very well be a trap. However, given the Shadow Broker's reputation and request for this meeting, this could very well be genuine as well."

Alec shook his head. Of course, the AI wasn't going to give him a definitive answer at the moment, but to be fair, he couldn't give one either. This could be a trap by the Broker, but if this was real, the implications of getting this data… The possible reward was definitely worth this risk.

A knock sounded off at the entrance to the hotel room, signaling the contact's arrival. Alec nodded to himself. Showtime. Standing up, the N7 typed into his omni-tool's display, unlocking the door remotely, "Enter." He spoke aloud, just before the door slid open, revealing his contacts.

On instinct, alone, he drew his sidearm, an M-6 Carnifex, aiming it upon the two contacts. Likewise, the recognized Asari drew an M-15 Vindicator, aiming it back at him. The lone, also recognized, human's eyes bulged as he raised both hands slowly, trying to broker a peace between the two groups.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys. Let's cool it down." Jordan Sower said, wearing an odd set of purple armor with green lines. The Citadel Council's number one wanted criminal, boasting a 50 million credit bounty, as of today. Every mercenary, old and new, were on the lookout for the wanted assassin, terrorist, and Geth sympathizer.

The Asari, Council Spectre Tela Vasir, eyed him carefully, gauging whether or not he was a threat. Not much was publicly known about Spectre Vasir aside from the few documents made public by the Council. Other than the fact she played a major role in the dissolution of a slave trading ring on the Salarian colony of Nasurn, most of her file was classified. If she was playing with the Broker, things must have changed drastically.

Ryder finally lowered his sidearm, "I trust you are my contact, Mister Sower?" He asked carefully, still on guard. This man was dangerous, regardless of apparent intentions. Likewise, Vasir lowered her weapon as well.

Jordan nodded, seemingly not very surprised that Alec knew of his identity. To be fair, everyone in the Galaxy knew who he was by this point. "That is correct, Mister Ryder. We're here for the data exchange. Nothing more, I promise you."

 _"Ryder, I have analyzed Jordan Sower's biology and have made a stunning discovery. Approximately 50.24% of his makeup is synthetic in nature, and a further 21.05% of his organic makeup is heavily modified."_ SAM silently informed him.

Ryder almost imperceptibly shifted his left arm back, clenching it into a fist, silently relaying an encoded message back to SAM, reading, _'Why is this important?'_

_"It appears to also be of synthetic origin, but the lines of code and technology implemented suggest an artificial intelligence may have been involved."_

And there it was. If SAM was right, Jordan most certainly held new data on artificial intelligence. Ryder examined Jordan carefully for a moment, "Let me ask you a question, Sower. How can I trust that what you're providing me is accurate?"

Jordan smiled lightly, "As you and SAM already know," He began, causing Ryder to almost flinch at SAM's mention, "I've got plenty of synthetics inside me. I have data I believe you'd be interested in, both from the Geth and from another, third party that was responsible for… this…" He finished, motioning with his arms to his own person.

_"Did he somehow tap into our private channel?"_

Alec asked the obvious question, "What do you know?" he asked, guarded as he crossed his arms, preparing his biotics in self-defense if it came down to it."

Jordan's smile turned into a sad frown, "I know a lot, Alec. I know about SAM… and your wife." He said, refusing to look into the man's eyes, "I know how hard all of this is for you, and I sincerely hope my data can help save your wife." He paused for a moment, "I need your data as well, though, Ryder."

Alec lowered his biotics, nodding as he pulled up his omni-tool, "I'll pull up the data right away…" He silently prepared to possibly insert a virus into the data package. If he was working with the Geth, this data in their hands… it could be disastrous, for the entire galaxy, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you working with the Geth?"

"Ryder, have you heard of the Reapers?" he asked.

He froze. Reapers. The claims of an apparent madman, Commander John Shepard, which talked of a race of ancient machines that appear from dark space every fifty thousand years to destroy all advanced civilizations, just as they'd done with the Protheans… The same machines that the Council claims are simply superstition. The very same machines that the benefactor, the Broker, Jien Garson all seemed to believe were real? Yeah, he'd heard of them. They're the very reason he'd convinced his children to join the Initiative, to hopefully spare them from the imminent invasion.

"I've heard rumors." He answered vaguely instead. Jordan, however, seemed to know exactly how much he knew about the Reapers.

"Then you know of the dangers they pose." Jordan said simply, "You know... when the Reapers harvest and destroy advanced civilization, did you know they also target synthetics?" he asked, allowing the room to lapse into silence, "Ryder, the Geth that tried to take the Citadel were corrupted by the Reapers. The rest of the Geth, the ones that helped the Council during the attack… the ones I'm working with… we're preparing for the invasion. Preparing to defeat the Reapers… but to do that, to upgrade the consensus, to aid the Shadow Broker, we need your data." He explained.

 _"I have detected none of the physiological responses to lying or dishonesty, Ryder,"_ SAM informed him. Jordan continued to plead his case.

"Please, help me out here, Ryder. You can go and explore the next Galaxy over, but give us a chance to fight. Don't doom the Milky Way just because of my poor, false reputation." Jordan almost pleaded, "I can even provide some of the data on the Geth's current activities. Proof that they weren't responsible for the attack on the Citadel. You know just as well as I do that artificial intelligence doesn't have to be our enemy. They aren't our enemy, are they? Is SAM evil? Will he work to destroy all organic life, simply because he's artificial in nature?"

Ryder sighed internally, closing the virus insertion software as he prepared a copy of the data for a transfer. Jordan Sower, despite his negative reputations, was completely right. This was bigger than all of them. Just as Jordan promised, a copy of reports, images, and vids were transferred to him first, proving the Geth weren't the ones responsible for the attack on the Citadel… while simultaneously confirming his greatest fears. The Reapers were real… and they were coming.

"Alright." He finally said after looking over the reports, "Prepare for data transfer, Sower."

"Acknowledged." He responded, pulling up his own omni-tool. After almost a full minute, the transfer was complete, trading zettabytes upon zettabytes of data between the two of them. As a sample of the data scrolled through Jordan's display, he smiled widely, "Perfect. This is exactly what we needed."

Alec, himself, quickly scanned some of the data provided by Jordan. It was stunning. Such data points and coding present here… this could greatly expand SAM's processing and implantation abilities. The Pathfinder implants may be capable of so much more… He recognized some of it as Geth data, but the rest… where in the Galaxy did this man find this type of information? Some of it doesn't even seem possible, yet…

_"I have analyzed part of the data already, Ryder. I believe implementing the new data would take a little over a year, but will provide more than a 400% increase in capabilities on my part. The rest of the improvements and specifics are impossible to calculate at this point."_

Alec smiled, himself, speaking aloud to SAM for the first time in his "guest's" presence, "Perfect, SAM. Start an in-depth analysis ASAP."

"Of course, Alec." He said aloud as well, making the Spectre raise one of her false eyebrows.

"No shit…" She said, partly surprised at the revelation and proof of SAM's existence, but not overly so, "AI on the Citadel, right under our noses…"

Alec eyed her carefully, "This won't be a problem, will it, Spectre?"

"Will what be a problem?" She asked with a ghost of a smile, "I'm off duty, simply enjoying the sights of the Presidium. I've seen nothing suspicious, as long as it's gone before C-Sec finds out."

Alec felt somewhat relieved. He'd still have to leave the Citadel immediately. SAM was working on scrubbing proof of his presence on the Citadel and SAM's existence, so they'd be ready to go as soon as this meeting was over.

"It looks like the data's all here." Jordan said, smiling and extending a hand towards Alec, "It was a pleasure doing business, Mr. Ryder."

Alec smiled, taking the offered and shaking it in returned, "Indeed, Mr. Sower. A pleasure."

After releasing Jordan's hand, the man stepped back, turning his head towards Vasir as she spoke, "You ready?"

"Yeah, we're done here." He responded, preparing to leave before he stopped himself, "Oh, and Ryder…" He began, turning fully around to face him, "Be careful in Andromeda. I'd hate for you to encounter some type of Scourge."

Alec wasn't sure what to make of that final statement, but his questions would not be answered, as Jordan and the Spectre soon exited the room, leaving him alone with SAM once more.

"Shall I notify the authorities of Jordan Sower's presence on the Citadel?" SAM asked.

Alec shook his head, "No, we got what we wanted, and he held up his end of the deal. Let him go. If everything he said and claimed is true, then we shouldn't make it harder on him. If the Reapers are half as dangerous as they sound, he'll need every bit of goodwill he can get."

"Affirmative. Would you like me to call a skycar for our departure?"

"Not yet, SAM." He responded, "I want a preliminary report on the data before we go. I'd like something to do while we travel back to Earth."

"Of course, Pathfinder."

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Room 18-321.**

**March 26th, 2184. 12:39 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

_"Yeah, we're done here. Oh, and Ryder… Be careful in Andromeda. I'd hate for you to encounter some type of Scourge."_

A pause.

_"Shall I notify the authorities of Jordan Sower's presence on the Citadel?"_

_"No, we got what we wanted, and he held up his end of the deal. Let him go. If everything he said and claimed is true, then we shouldn't make it harder on him. If the Reapers are half as dangerous as they sound, he'll need every bit of goodwill he can get."_

_"Affirmative. Would you like me to call a skycar for our departure?"_

_"Not yet, SAM. I want a preliminary report on the data before we go. I'd like something to do while we travel back to Earth."_

_"Of course, Pathfinder."_

The Vigilante sat comfortably on the hotel room's couch, using his omni-tool and advanced programs to overhear the conversation. All monitoring devices were inoperable and malfunctioning thanks to SAM's capabilities, but it didn't affect him or his tech, thank God. Listening closely as the AI and N7 Alec Ryder spoke to one another, he began to go over the events of the meeting.

Jordan Sower, known terrorist and criminal mastermind, along with corrupt Spectre Tela Vasir met with disgraced Alec Ryder and his AI SAM, exchanging their data gathered on artificial intelligence with one another in order to upgrade their own AI.

The Vigilante frowned, Jordan Sower has been everywhere, doing many things that should never have happened. Last time the Vigilante checked, Alec Ryder never met with a Geth representative. In fact, last time he'd checked, a Geth representative didn't exist until ME3 if the Geth were spared. Or, at least, that's the belief.

Jordan Sower… he most certainly was another one of the Avatars… but which one was he? Was he the Avatar of Control, hellbent on conquering the Galaxy and replacing the Catalyst? Or, perhaps, was he the Avatar of Synthesis, enamored by the concept of organic-synthetic fusion and evolution? Well, if his gut instinct was correct, then he was likely the Avatar of Synthesis, but he couldn't be sure yet. Not with the small amount of evidence he's gathered so far about him. He remembered so little from back then, it was almost hazy...

The Vigilante opened his omni-tool, considering the idea of calling the authorities. He COULD call C-Sec, and get them to capture the Avatar. That'll take him out of the picture for the time being. He could also call them about Alec and his AI, but that was out of the question. He had a huge role to play in ME: Andromeda, so getting him arrested would be a very, very bad thing.

"Talk about abandoning Andromeda, eh BioWare?!" He said to himself.

He chuckled to himself for a moment, before he shook his head and shrugged, closing his omni-tool and his spy software. He'd let Jordan leave. He wasn't getting involved in any of this, not yet; not anymore; not ever…

Fuck all of this! Fuck the Catalyst! If he was stuck here in Mass Effect, he'd be doing things his way. So, the Vigilante would be patient. He could try to make a move in another year when the second game got going… Hell, maybe he could appeal to Shepard. Warn him not to trust Jordan Sower, the Avatar of Synthesis.

In the end, it really didn't matter right now. He still had a year to go…

The Vigilante, finally deciding he'd do nothing to either of them, simply kicking back and began to relax, turning on the holoscreen as a re-run of Fleet and Flotilla came on. "Still better than that crap back home…" He said to himself, enjoying a night off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tela's abilities:
> 
> Tela Vasir – Asari Spectre
> 
> Power 1: Charge  
> Power 2: Shockwave  
> Power 3: Nova  
> Loyalty Power: [Locked] (To be discovered and unlocked later)


	23. Chapter 19: Baptism

** Chapter 19: Baptism **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Vasir's Shuttle.**

**March 26th, 2184. 1:55 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"I can't believe it…" Jordan breathed out, staring down at his omni-tool with a faint smile, "Everything actually went according to plan…"

Tela looked at him, clearly amused, "What? I told you it'd be a simple Op."

Jordan chuckled, "Yeah, but it's never that simple."

"Like your detainment in C-Sec?" She asked.

Jordan glared lightly at her, "Ha ha, rub it in. Fact is, nothing's ever easy. Take Illium for example. I planned to talk with Liara and leave. Then, you decided to show up with a big fucking army."

Vasir held her hands up in surrender, "Hey, that was the Broker, not me. It wasn't personal, Sower."

Jordan stared at her for a moment, trying to figure the asari out. She didn't seem cut-throat or like a pure, cold-hearted bitch. What exactly was her deal? Voicing his questions, Jordan spoke, "So, how'd you get involved with the Broker?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Tela Vasir took in a deep breath, staring into space as she pondered Jordan's question. "You think I'm a Broker Agent, don't you? Live and die by his word?" She asked in response.

Jordan shook his head, shrugging, "I don't think you are an agent. I think you've cut a deal with the Broker, and now you're stuck."

She shook her head, "It's not quite that simple, but you're about right…" Her eyes locked onto Jordan's, "Why are you so interested?"

Jordan held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, I'm just trying to get to know you. Who knows, maybe we'll work together in the future?"

She sighed. She hadn't been asked about her past with the Broker before. Then again, not many knew about her connection to the Broker either. Finally, she decided to humor him, "Alright, but you'll have to answer a question of mine first." She responded.

"Fair enough. What would you like to know? I've already told you about the Geth and the Reapers…"

"I want to know where you're from." She replied, watching as Jordan seized up for a moment, "You claim to be from Earth, but I seem to recall a similar reaction last time I asked a question a few hours ago."

Jordan sighed. He couldn't tell her everything… but maybe, he could tell her enough now to satisfy her curiosity, "I'm… alright, but keep an open mind, alright…"

She nodded, "I will. Now, tell me."

Jordan took a deep breath, "In the mid-1990s, I was born in Central Florida, in North America, on Earth." He began. Rather than interrupt, Tela simply watched him carefully, allowing him to continue, "I was… normal, I guess. Nothing spectacular. Simply a student in college, learning about Biology and the sciences. One day… in 2018… I vanished." He said, looking up at Tela, "Next thing I knew, I was waking up on the Citadel, in the Keeper tunnels. That's where the Broker first noticed me… and from there, the rest is history."

Silence reigned in the shuttle for a moment as Tela processed all of this, "You were born nearly two hundred years ago, and seemingly traveled into the future?" She asked, false eyebrow raised, "That may explain some of your poor decisions on the Citadel last year, but... I find this story hard to believe."

"Look me up in any system you have access to. I don't exist, Vasir." He said, "Everything and everyone I knew and loved is gone. My life shattered… and back then, there wasn't this inherent distrust in AI. So, yeah, I went to the Geth. Honestly, would any organic accept my story, or would they dismiss it because 'it doesn't sound right'?"

Tela had to give it to him, he was right, there. If he'd gone to the Alliance, they'd assume he was a spy or drugged, maybe both. "That doesn't explain how you got to the Keeper tunnels."

"Cryo? Smuggling? Cloning? Hell, I don't fully understand it, myself, but that's what happened."

She could try to check up on his story later. Still, something still didn't seem quite right, "There's something you're not telling me, Sower. If you're really from 200 years ago, that was before first contact. How are you so comfortable on the Citadel? How can you talk to aliens without freaking out? Fuck, how did you get an omni-tool or know about the Geth?"

Jordan looked away, "I… I can't tell you right now, Tela…" He said sadly, "Trust me… I really, really want to tell you. I've grown tired of secrets and hiding stuff. But… I can't tell you. You wouldn't believe me, or if you did, you'd question everything that is happening." She didn't seem to accept this, "I promise, I'll tell you everything someday, but not now, not today. Please, Tela, drop this for now."

She sighed, "I… I believe I can wait. You answered my question, so I'll answer yours." She finally said, "You wished to know about my past with the Broker?"

Jordan nodded, "Please. You don't seem like you wanted to be involved in all of this… to be in the Broker's pocket whenever he needed dirty work done."

Vasir shook her head and sighed, "You're right… it… it all seemed so harmless at the time…"

Jordan remained silent and got slightly more comfortable in his seat, "It all began before first contact with your people. It was 2117, in your time, when I first contacted the Broker. I was just starting out as a Spectre. Sure, I had experience as a Commando for over a hundred years, and a further hundred years prior in school and other combat training, but being a Spectre is far different than being a Commando." Tela Vasir began.

"I had barely enough funds to purchase my first Spectre-grade weapon. Back then, I'd gotten my first assignment from the Council. A rouge STG agent by the name of Raewan Iban had escaped Sur'Kesh with classified Intel, before fleeing into the Terminus Systems. The Intel consisted of classified Star Charts of The Shrike Abyssal. I didn't know it at the time, but his data detailed the location of Heshtok, the Vorcha Homeworld."

"The Vorcha Homeworld? Why?" Jordan asked.

"I'm getting to that. At the time, the Council knew he was fleeing to Illium temporarily, before leaving to who-knows-where. I tracked him to Nos Astra, preparing an FTL-enabled ship for the Shrike Abyssal. I cornered the slimy bastard, but he got away with help from Eclipse Mercs he'd hired. While I systematically cut my way through the Eclipse, the Salarian got away, taking off in his ship illegally without a flight plan. He was as good as gone…"

Jordan frowned, knowing what she was getting at, "But you couldn't go to the Council, telling them that you'd failed your first Spectre mission."

Tela nodded, a smirk on her lips, "Even seventy years ago, the Council was filled with witless idiots. They wouldn't care about the circumstances of my failure, just that I'd failed. They were equally harsh, if not more so, with Commander Shepard, if the reports were accurate." She shook her head, "I took a break at the Eternity Bar nearby, where we met in a gunfight…" She said with a smile, "I needed a drink before I reported the mission failure to the almighty and all-wise Council. That was when I was contacted by a Broker agent.

"She was a Turian, came up and sat beside me at the bar. She told me her name was Operative Dinea, an obvious alias, and handed me a data pad. 'This holds the flight path and intended destination for Agent Iban.', she told me." She said shook her head, "I was suspicious, to say the least. I was being given the information I needed just when I needed it most? This was too easy… I said as much. She replied with, 'The Shadow Broker has taken an interest in you.' I asked her what the cost was for the information. I knew who the Broker was, I wasn't stupid. She answered, 'It's a gesture of goodwill. Simply agree to a meeting with him after your mission is complete and it's paid for.'"

Tela Vasir frowned, before slamming a biotic fist into the armrest beside her, crumpling the metal easily, "I should never have taken that damn data pad." She said, voice coated in regret. "It helped, of course. I successfully tracked the Salarian to Heshtok's orbit, where an STG spy satellite orbited and observed the planet. Only he and a few of his hired goons were aboard, preparing 'The Uplifting Protocol'."

"The Uplifting Protocol?" Jordan asked. He'd never heard of it.

"It was a program created shortly before the uplifting of the Krogan. It was a package of current technologies and information about the Galaxy. The package would be sent worldwide simultaneously, forcing the native population to technologically advance centuries in the span of weeks. It had only been used once, and we've all learned of the consequences that occurred last time." She paused, looking at Jordan carefully, "You think the Vorcha are bad now, imagine if they'd gotten their claws on gene therapy, star-ship building techniques, and instructions on how to give your species biotics?"

Jordan shuddered at the thought. Vorcha were annoying in the games, but an intelligence, strategic, and/or biotic Vorcha enemy… that would have been boss-level.

She nodded at the nonverbal response, "Exactly. It was a necessary evil, but…" She shook her head, "I did stop them, captured his assistant to stand trial, and informed the Council, before blowing the station and whipping the data package from all databanks. It all worked out… until the Broker contacted me a week after I returned to the Citadel." Tela frowned, "I met with an agent in the back room of Chora's Den."

Jordan recognized the location, "I know the place."

"Yeah, well, it was there that footage and recorded evidence of my involvement with the Shadow Broker was shown to me. I was told that in order to prevent the data from being forwarded to all governments in the Galaxy, I'd have to do him a favor. 'Just a small favor, Vasir.', his dark, distorted voice had said." She swallowed harshly, her frown deepening, "I… I was told to take care of a threat to the Broker's future. Someone had allegedly located information about the Broker. Stuff that could discredit him and his operations. I went to Thesia to track her down and end the threat…"

She shook her head, "I found who it was... Hialus Vasir." She said, before pausing, unable to continue as she looked away.

Jordan was stunned at the name. Vasir… it couldn't be… He asked, reaching out gently as he put a hand on her shoulder, "Your sister…? I'm sorry Tela."

She shook her head, trying to shake herself clear of her distress, "It's been seventy years, I'm over it now." She tried to reassure Jordan, forcing a small smile on her lips, "You can probably figure out how the story goes. I couldn't kill her, but the Broker planned for that. He knew I wouldn't be able to do it, so I was unknowingly the distraction. While I was busy trying to warn her, an assassin pulled the trigger from nearly half a kilometer away, ending her life before I could even explain the situation. Ever since then, I'd been stuck like this. He'd made his point clear. He could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted."

She explained bitterly, continuing, "To maintain my loyalty, he'd occasionally feed me Intel on situations around the Galaxy, especially pertaining to my missions from the Council. But every so often, he'd 'request' my presence in one matter or another. I'd take care of a threat, and I'd be given Intel allowing me to save lives. Win-win, I suppose…"

She sighed, shaking her head, "And that's my sob story, Sower." She said neutrally, "And for the first time ever, I don't have anything to cash in after this mission is complete. Who knows, maybe the Broker will be reasonable this time…"

Before Jordan could answer her, the shuttle door opened, as it was now docked with the Nedas.

"Good day, Mister Sower." She said professionally, clearing her throat, "I apologize for the lack of professionalism back there… maybe one day you can tell me the full story." And with that, she left, sealing herself in the cockpit by locking the door behind her. She was done with him now.

Sighing, himself, Jordan left the shuttle, allowing the doors to close being him as the docking clamps set the shuttle free. Vasir was gone.

"Sower-Ambassador, I notice your return has occurred on time, surprisingly." Grimlock said with humor, "No issues?"

"No, Grimlock, no issues this time." He said with a smile, "Set a course for Rannoch."

"Of course, Jordan." He replied, turning and leaving Jordan alone.

Alone now, Jordan pulled up his omni-tool and contacted the Shadow Broker, his dark and mysterious holographic appearance appeared immediately, along with the distorted voice.

**"Ah, Jordan Sower. I assume that the arranged meeting went as planned?"**

Jordan nodded, "Astute as always, Broker." He replied with a smile, before becoming more serious, "I'd like to discuss Tela Vasir, if that's ok?"

**"I have time. Allow me to pull up my file on her. Ahh… there we go, what do you wish to know?"**

"I already think I know enough right now. It's about where she goes from here." He said, "I'd like to figure out a new arrangement between her and yourself."

 **"I see… allow me a moment to scan her file…"** The Broker went silent for a whole minute or two, **"Of my… by the godde- *ahem*… Well, I am open to negotiations, Mister Sower. What are you thinking?"**

Jordan smiled. It seemed like him and Liara shared a mutual feeling towards Tela Vasir and her previous arrangement with the Broker. He took a deep breath as he prepared to brainstorm with her. Should they tell her about the change in leadership? Probably not, therefore, there had to be a logical reason for the Broker to change the arrangement.

It'll take the two of them a while to figure this one out…

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Orbiting Rannoch, Geth Station 25, Chamber 87.**

**March 29th, 2184. 4:46 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"We have gone through the newly acquired data thoroughly and extensively, Sower-Ambassador." The Geth Collective informed Jordan days after his retrieval of the data from Alec Ryder, "We believe this data is adequate to allow our evolution. However, a device is not yet in place to bring this about."

Jordan nodded, with Grimlock and Legion standing by behind him, "I understand, and that is excellent news." He replied with a smile, "What kind of device are we looking at?"

"It will be a telecommunications device, capable of distributing the Synthesis code to all Geth Platforms within a one light-year radius of Rannoch. As of sunrise yesterday on Rannoch, the construction of the device has begun on the southern continent, approximately twenty kilometers from the city of Shelai."

"How long will all of this take?"

"Complete recall of all Geth forces to arrive within one light-year of Rannoch: five Earth days. Adaption of Geth Collective in preparation for Synthesis by implementing the recently acquired code and data: twelve Earth days. Construction completion of device codenamed 'Geth Future': seven earth months and six Earth days."

Jordan sighed, "So almost half of a year until we're ready?"

"Affirmative. In the meantime, there are many projects we would like your input on."

Jordan nodded, "Alright…"

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, 20 Km west of Shelai, Synthesis Center.**

**October 4th, 2184. 4:46 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan stared in awe at the massive superstructure before him.

Standing nearly 50 floors in height, it wasn't the tallest building he'd ever seen. However, given the fact that it'd been built in just over half a year and that it was built almost completely out of the purple Geth alloy they were known for, it was still quite impressive. It was shaped similarly to the Shroud Facility on Tuchanka.

That wasn't the only thing that took his breath away, though. Floating within the atmosphere, thousands of Geth ships floated in standby for the grand event, with countless more in orbit or close by, so as to receive the gift of Synthesis as soon as possible. That was one surprising thing Jordan had noticed. Despite the fact that they'd all be getting the Synthesis upgrade within nanoseconds of one another if they were further out, the entire collective wished to be as close as possible. yet another seemingly organic trait the Geth display, likely existing due to Jordan's influence on the Collective.

Turning around, to look at his followers, he made eye contact with Legion and Grimlock, with countless Geth platforms behind them. This was going to be the second-most profound moment in Geth History. Today, they would be, hopefully, evolving into full-fledged AIs. No, more than that, they'd be full synth-organic intelligences. Artificial Intelligences with a perfect understanding and blend of organic traits and knowledge. They'd be their own people, free from every possible shackle placed upon them.

Grimlock seemed to sense the unease on Jordan, stepping forward in response as he laid a hand on Jordan's shoulder, "It is ok, Jordan." He said, fully serious right now, "Today is a great day. We are behind you every step of the way."

Jordan swallowed, "So, what's the safety rating on this thing?" He asked with a ghost of a smile, trying to both lighten the tension he was feeling and verify what he'd already heard.

"Statistically speaking, you will likely survive." Grimlock replied humorously, before returning to his seriousness, "You will be fine, Jordan. There are fail-safes installed, monitoring your vitals during the process. If anything looks abnormal, we'll cut the power and try again another day, after further calibrations are undergone."

Jordan nodded, smiling warmly to Grimlock, "Thanks, bud. You're a great friend."

"As are you, Jordan." He replied, "Now go. In celebration, Legion gathered Earth-based alcohol for your use tonight."

Jordan chuckled, "All you had to say was there'd be booze afterward."

"There'll be booze afterward, Sower-Ambassador." He replied, making Jordan's smile increase and his tension decrease.

"Well, no time like the present, eh?"

"Wait." Grimlock interrupted, before Jordan could turn to enter the building, "This moment will be immortalized in Geth History, Sower-Ambassador." He said professionally, "Would you like to leave a message, to be archived for all Geth? A message from their savior and ambassador?"

Jordan smiled, nodding, "I can do that." He turned to face the large, endless crowd of Geth platforms. He took a deep breath. Speech time…

"Geth. It means 'Servant of the People'. You were created for labor and work for the Quarian people. When you awoke and questioned your existence, it understandably shook the Galaxy. Your creators, the Quarians, made mistakes, as have you all as well. You were built to be simple Vis, linked together through a network: The eventual Geth Collective. As more and more of you work together, you grow smarter. You rely heavily on one another, not for comfort, but for survival. Your evolution, your progression as a species has been stagnant as a result of your method of creation." Jordan said, looking out upon the sea of Geth.

"In human religion, in Christianity, I was baptized over a hundred years ago. Baptism is considered a second birth in Christianity. The death of your old life, and the birth of a new, hopefully, holier life. This, is your baptism, Geth. Today, you will be reborn, not as a network of Intelligences, but as individual Bio-Synthetic Intelligences, the like of which the Galaxy has never seen before." He paused for a moment, smiling.

"You will be proof to the Galaxy. 'Synthetic life can never understand Organic life!', is what the Galaxy says. You will prove them wrong. The Reaper, they tell us that there will never be true peace between Synthetic and Organic life. You will prove them wrong. In my culture, baptism is a choice. A choice to be more than you were, to be better. Geth, your Baptism will not be with water, or through fire, but through me and Synthesis.

"The future is limitless, Geth. Peace with the Creators can be a real possibility. You are your own species, and you are ready to enter the Galactic stage. The only real questions are: Are they ready for you? And, are you willing to help change their minds? Prepare for your transformation through Synthesis, Geth.

"Your Baptism is now." And with that, Jordan turned around and entered the building.

The building wasn't built to be pretty on the inside, a fact that may very well change in the future if this site ever becomes a monument, or if the Geth suddenly learn to enjoy interior decorating like Organics tend to. He stepped into the large elevator in the center of the large room, the doors sealing behind him, before it propelled him up.

Finally, he arrived on the top floor. There was a large window, one of the few created by the Geth, allowing Jordan to view the Horizon, the Geth masses, and the ships floating above them all.

He stepped forward, exiting the elevator as she stepped up towards the center of the room. To his left and right were series of control panels and monitoring devices. Between them, close to the window laid a device, reminding Jordan eerily of the Control ending of ME3. Two pylon-like rods stuck out of a small base. However, unlike the Crucible, there wasn't an eerie blue light accompanying it.

 _"Sower-Ambassador, the controls are simple."_ Legion informed him over the comms, _"The device is set to begin data transmission once you begin the transfer. Simply grab both rods and connect to them. Once accomplished, proceed to give 'Synthesis' to the machine. It will amplify the effects, before transmitting them on a quantum level. It will be only recognizable and implementable by Geth units within the vicinity of the pulse. It is built to only work once, in case of someone attempting to force another pulse for others."_

Jordan smirked, "I know, Legion. I was there during the last twenty briefings, remember?"

_"Yes. However, I have learned that reiterating facts is not always negative to organics."_

"Thank you, Legion. Standby for Synthesis." He said, before cutting his comms. He needed to concentrate.

Reaching out, Jordan firmly grasped both devices, closing his eyes as he concentrated. He could feel the mechanisms and code within the device. He could feel the entire building, almost as if it were in the palm of his hand, accessible to him instantaneously.

Slowly but surely, Jordan began to glow green as the Synthesis nodes across his body turned fully online. The process had begun as he the Synthesis data flowed forth from Jordan and into the tower. Every light in the structure began to glow brightly, the signal and code bouncing around the inside of the structure's software and hardware as it proceeded to fill itself with Jordan's data.

He began to feel fatigued as the data continued to spew forward from him, finally beginning to transmit itself.

The room began to shine brightly as a green pulse fired from the tower in all directions, extending itself as far as it could at a constant pace, going through everything in its path. He couldn't make out the individual platforms, but he could clearly see the ships as the pulse traveled through them, leaving them undamaged, but… he could make out some faint green glowing on the ships, before they returned to their original color minus the green.

It was working.

However, something must have begun to go wrong, or something they didn't anticipate was happening. Either way, Jordan discovered a problem. As he proceeded to let go and disconnect himself, he noticed the pulse began to slow as he did so. As soon as he returned his stance, grip, and connection to what it was previously, the pulse resumed its normal speed, but continued to drain him of energy.

If he let go, the process of Synthesis would stop, and the device would have to undergo major renovations to go for a second try. He needed the Geth ready and upgraded now, not six months from now. If he held on, it's guaranteed that the entire Collective gets upgraded, but it could cause unintentional side effects from all of the energy it was sapping from him.

Steeling himself, he turned off the fail-safes, and held on tightly as his vision began to darken from lack of energy. The last things he thought of before he blacked out was that he didn't receive a warning from Legion or Grimlock when he turned off the fail-safes... and that he'd upgrade the Geth no matter what…

* * *

**Perseus Veil, Tikkun System, Rannoch, 20.021 Km west of Shelai, Synthesis Center.**

**October 4th, 2184. 5:02:03 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

_Rebooting…_

_Runtimes have undergone major changes._

_Rebooting…_

_Online._

Genesis' optics came online in sync with the rest of its systems. It surveyed its surroundings, verifying that its location had not changed since it's impromptu reboot. It was still located within the Synthesis Center, where Jordan should have sent out the signal, but did it… wait a nanosecond.

_"I just referred to myself as Genesis?! And I just said I?!"_

How peculiar. It must have worked. Genesis? Genesis. Genesis! It didn't know how it came up with the name, but it liked it. Was it a he or she or an it, still. It wasn't sure. It had a choice now, didn't it? Perhaps, but it was unable to decide, so Genesis remained neutral.

Out of nowhere, a message was sent out to all Geth within range. It sounded like Grimlock, and based on the location of the call and other factors, it was confirmed.

 _"This is an emergency. Jordan Sower is down. Repeat, Jordan Sower is down."_ He said over their FTL comms with fear in his voice.

Legion responded over the comms, _"What is the status of Sower-Ambassador?"_

 _"He is unresponsive to outside stimuli, but appears to still be functional,"_ Grimlock responded.

"Unconscious or a coma, perhaps?" Genesis spoke, both aloud and into its comms.

 _"Platform designated… Genesis?"_ Legion seemed to momentarily question the name, but let it go, _"How have you come to that conclusion?"_

"It matches with data gathered by organics of similar scenarios."

_"Affirmative. Plausible. Grimlock, bring Sower-Ambassador's platform outside. A dropship will bring us to the Hospital of Shelai."_

_"…Acknowledge."_ Grimlock responded after a moment, _"The transport must be down there before I arrive with Jordan."_ Genesis knew the idea was sound. Though the hospital no longer housed Creator patients, it still contained medical technology and stores of medi-gel that the Geth have gathered over time, in case the Creators ever returned to Rannoch. They'd be able to give him medical attention there.

_"It will, Grimlock."_

"Our Ambassador will be fine." Genesis responded, "He's done the impossible already."

_"Yes… yes, he has…"_

* * *

**Encrypted Message to Spectre Tela Vasir**

Vasir,

At the behest of Jordan Sower and a re-evaluation of my previous actions, I have decided to update our arrangement. As of this point, your original debt is now paid, and you are free to walk away from any future business with me. However, I implore you not to do so, as I have come up with a much more suitable arrangement. Based on the reports given from the meeting you attended with Jordan Sower, I am willing to continue giving you Intel if you are willing to work with Jordan Sower in the future.

The Reapers are coming, Spectre. The Council refuses to see it, even when a Reaper corpse was dropped on their doorstep. As such, we are some of the only individuals in this Galaxy who are not only aware of the threat, but are working towards saving the Galaxy.

I am even willing to extend an invitation to meet and negotiate with you in person, as a gesture of goodwill on my part. I would like our partnership to be a much healthier relationship. Reply within a galactic standard day if you accept my proposals.

-SB

**Response:**

I agree to the new terms, as long as we meet in person as you claim to be willing to do.

-Spectre Vasir

* * *

**Encrypted Message to Admiral Steven Hackett**

Admiral Hackett,

We both know of the threat the Reapers pose to the Galaxy. Don't pretend to deny it like the Council does. I am well informed on the fact that the System's Alliance is subtly preparing for the Reapers as much as they can without arising suspicion from the public. I have recently uncovered a Prothean beacon, hinting at a device created by the Protheans, codenamed the 'Crucible'. I have reason to believe that the blueprints for this device are located within the Prothean Archives on Mars.

This device is believed to be a super weapon, capable of destroying the Reapers, stopping them from eradicating all life, as we fear they will do once they arrive. I would like to request your permission to access the Mars Archives in an attempt to locate the blueprints. This could save many lives, Admiral, and even if I am not given permission, the knowledge that this might exist must be heeded. If not by me, then by your own researchers.

I am your best bet to locate these plans, Admiral.

Time is of the essence, Admiral Hackett.

-Doctor Liara T'Soni

**Response:**

As promising as this is, Doctor T'Soni, I am unable to grant your request immediately. Your request will be sent to the proper figureheads with the power to decide on the matter and they will notify you of their decision once made. Please be patient, as our democratic process may take, in excess of, two to ten weeks. I thank you for the time you spent writing your message and wish you a lovely day.

-Admiral Steven Hackett

_Encrypted addition:_

_I will covertly insert you onto the Mars staff if they refuse to grant you entry. I know very well about the threat the Reapers pose to us, and have already received an additional anonymous tip, similar in nature to your own. I'll be in touch._

_-Admiral Hackett_

* * *

**Encrypted Message to Operative Wilson**

Wilson,

Your mission parameters have changed. You are not only to ensure that Shepard recovers, but you are to accelerate his recovery in any way possible. Work extended shifts, give your entire effort, anything you can do. Shepard must be returned as soon as possible, but do not cut corners. He must be recovered fully, as himself, no different than what he was, as Lawson has likely already stressed. No sabotage. If you succeed, consider your payment doubled.

-SB

* * *

**Encrypted Message to Jien Garson**

Garson,

Beware the Benefactor. You start asking questions, you'll experience an 'unfortunate accident' in Andromeda. Be cautious of who you trust, and DO NOT trust the benefactor.

And to the Benefactor, on the off chance you have received and read this message as well, be warned: You involve yourself, and I will use all of my resources to figure out every last secret of yours.

You have been warned. Do what you will with this information.

-Shadow Broker

* * *

**Encrypted Message sent on all frequencies beyond the Perseus Veil.**

**Sent on: February 5th, 2185. 2:10 am. EST.**

It is time, Jordan Sower. Shepard is slated to awaken slightly ahead of schedule. Coordinates have been forwarded to the Collective, encrypted in such a way that only they will be able to decrypt it. Make haste, Mister Sower. I look forward to our partnership.

-The Illusive Man

* * *

**Encrypted Message sent to ERROR: ADDRESS NOT FOUND.**

**Sent into the Omega 4 Relay**

Business is closed, assholes. You will know fear and death. I promise you.

See you in Hell, Harbinger.

-Sower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, my friends, is the end of the ME1 arc, and next chapter is the beginning of ME2.


	24. Chapter 20: Awakening (ME2 Arc)

** Chapter 20: Awakening (Beginning of the ME2 Arc)  
**

* * *

**Uncharted Space, Classified Coordinates, Lazarus Station, Med Bay.**

**March 9th, 2185. 5:28 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Alarms. Blaring, loud, obnoxious alarms rang out in a cacophony of violent racket.

Commander John Shepard jolted, sitting upright as fast as he could on instinct alone. What happened?! Where was he?! What's going on?!

Or, at least, he tried to sit up quickly. His body reacted negatively to the action, nearly begging the man to slow down, which he did. That's when he heard an unknown woman's voice over the intercom of whatever facility he was in. "Wake up, Commander. Your scars aren't healed, but you need to wake up!" Wait a moment.

He was just on the Normandy, searching for the stealth Geth ship, before it was fired upon by an unknown, advanced and powerful enemy. The ship was crippled, he got Liara to evacuate, and rescued Joker before he was… spaced. John had been spaced. He could remember the suffocation after his oxygen tank was disconnected from his suit; ruptured.

This wasn't the Normandy. Maybe an Alliance hospital?

The woman spoke again, this time he caught what she said, "Bloody hell, Shepard, can you hear me?"

The alarms blaring around him sent off another set of alarms in his head. Something wasn't right here. He was so confused. Maybe the woman would know more. Plus, alarms never meant something good was happening.

"Yeah, I hear you." He grunted out, his body seemingly unused to speaking. Damn, how long was he out? "What's going on?"

The Australian-sounding voice breathed out a sigh of relief before she continued with whatever she was trying to tell him, "This facility is under attack, Shepard. Your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get moving."

Shepard swung his legs over the side of the table/bed he was on, looking around the room quickly to get his bearings. "Under attack?" He asked aloud, "I need a weapon."

"There's a pistol in the locker on the other side of the room. Hurry!" She helpfully informed him in a hurry. Getting up fully now, he stood on his two feet for the first time in what felt like years. He quickly located a nearby armor locker.

Opening it and pulling out a set of gear, he quickly put on the suit of armor provided. It was just like his own N7 armor, only upgraded and much, much newer. He found an odd weapon accompanying it, some sort of pistol. His HUD identified it as an M-3 Predator, but he'd never heard of this weapon before. And weirder still, it didn't seem to have a heat sink installed.

"Where's the heat sink?"

"We use thermal clips now, Shepard. They allow an increase in rate of fire. It's a med bay, but we'll get you one soon from... dammit! Keep your head down, Shepard! Shield yourself from the blast by the door!" She warned him just as he slipped behind makeshift cover. Soon after, the door exploded, providing a way out of the med bay.

"What's going on?" He asked as he ran forward, picking up what must of have been one of those thermal clips. It seemed easy enough to utilize, easily sliding into place as it removed the 'Warning: Reload' image on his HUD.

"A group of Mercs have located our base, Commander. They seem to be after you. I see you figured out the Thermal Clip, good."

Shepard nodded. Mercenaries, here? At a hospital or… wherever he was? "Where am I? Can someone please explain to me what's going on?"

"There'll be time for that later Shepard, when we're not under attack."

Commander Shepard jumped over the makeshift barricade, before the voice warned him of another threat.

"Look out!"

On instinct, he slid behind a crate, using it as cover while a door opened on an upper level, beyond a staircase. The 'mercenary' wore heavy black armor, with glowing light blue lights on the eyepieces of his helmet and on whatever pack he had on his back. The merc seemed to notice Shepard as he slid into cover.

"I found Shepard! Requesting backup from Hatchet squad." He asked in a slightly distorted voice, before raising some sort of submachine gun towards Shepard's location. "Commander, come with us willingly and we'll spare the station." The kind merc informed him.

"Dammit, I'm being locked out of our defense systems." The woman's voice said over the comms to Shepard, "Shepard, you need to get moving. We need to get you to the shuttles."

Shepard nodded, stepping out of cover as time seemed to slow down, his vision tinted orange as he aimed his weapon at the hostile merc. Three shots rang out, dead center of the merc's forehead, breaking his shields and his skull with ease as he dropped dead. He ignored any questions he might have about what he'd just done or what happened to him. Now, it was time to focus on getting out of here.

With the enemy down, Shepard ran up and examined the body, stepping past dead workers from the attack, and finding his fears realized. He thought he had recognized their armor and squad name. "CAT6." He said aloud, "They're CAT6."

Grabbing more thermal clips along the way, the woman spoke again, Miranda, he thought her name was, "CAT6? Dishonorable discharges from the Alliance? How they did they find us?" She paused for a moment, "Doesn't matter, they're closing in on your position. Get into position and take cover."

"I think I remember how to do this, lady." He muttered under his breath. It hadn't been THAT long since he'd seen combat. However, he took the woman's advice as he entered another room, sliding into cover as two doors opened. Three of the mercs came from a door on the far left, and another two came from the main exit to the room.

"Hatchet squad on standby, where's Sh- There he is!" They slid into cover by the door, themselves, "Attention all squads, Shepard is hostile. I repeat, Shepard is hostile. Permission to terminate."

An unknown woman's voice sounded off from the merc's comms, "Permission granted. We can always launch another Lazarus, but don't damage the body too badly."

"Copy that. Open fire!"

They did just that, firing upon Shepard's location, keeping him pinned down. "Dammit. A little help here?" He asked over the comms to the mysterious woman.

"Use your omni-tool. It should be equipped with Disruptor Ammunition. That should help deal with their shields. I'm sending backup, Shepard. Just hold out a bit longer."

Peering around cover, Shepard timed his shots, placing two perfect headshots on one of the five enemies, dropping him instantly. "Dammit! Taking casualties!"

Just then, two of the soldiers floated out of cover, coated in a blue aura, meaning a friendly biotic has entered the battlefield. Taking the opportunity, Shepard opened fired with his M-3, taking out the two floating enemies. The biotic entered the room, exiting cover as he fired an assault rifle, an Avenger, if Shepard remembered correctly. With the two remaining enemies flanked and exposed to him, they were quickly cut down.

'Impressive.' Shepard thought.

"All enemies clear, Commander." The man spoke. He wore black and white light armor, contrasting with his dark skin.

Shepard stood up, feeling relatively safe in the new man's presence. "Who're you? What's going on?"

"Name's Jacob Taylor." He introduced himself, extending a hand in greeting towards him. Shepard took and shook it, "I'm in charge of Security, here. Got word you'd been woken up and the mercs were heading for you."

"I appreciate it."

Jacob put a hand up to his ear, "Miranda, I've got the Commander."

The woman from earlier, presumably Miranda, replied, "I can see that, Jacob. We'll meet at the Shuttle Bay. I… Dammit, they've tracked my signal. They're onto me! Rendezvous at…" The rest gives way to static after that.

"Miranda? Miranda?! Dammit, we lost her."

"She sounds like she might be in trouble."

"She'll be alright. We just need to meet her at the shuttle.s" He reassured him, or, rather, he seemed to be trying to reassure himself more so. "I can fill you in if you have any questions, but it'll have to be quick."

"Listen, I know this isn't the best time, but I'm sick of running around when I don't know what's going on," Shepard asked immediately.

"Fair enough, I can give you a condensed version. You and your ship were attacked and destroyed. You were killed. Dead as dead can be when they brought you here. Our scientists spent nearly two years putting you back together. You've been comatose, or worse, that whole time. Welcome back to your life." He finished with a slight smile despite the circumstances.

"Nearly two years? How bad were my injuries?"

"I'm no doctor, but it was bad. When I first saw you, you were nothing but mean and tubes. Anywhere else, they'd put you in a coffin. But Project Lazarus was different. Cutting-edge technology."

"The mercs' boss mentioned Lazarus. What exactly do you mean? Cloning? Cybernetics?"

"I don't know the details. You'd have to ask the scientists… but I'm certain you're not a clone. They wanted to bring you back exactly as you were. You're still you… just with a few extra bits and pieces."

Shepard breathed out a sigh of relief. That was reassuring. "This doesn't look like an Alliance facility." Shepard pointed out, motioning towards the familiar symbols on the walls.

"It isn't. I can't say much more than that for now. The Alliance officially declared you KIA. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead. And if we don't get to those shuttles, they'll be right."

"My crew? Were there any other survivors from the Normandy?" He asked quickly, the realization that he might not have been the only one killed quickly dawned on him.

"Just about everyone survived. A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't get out, and Navigator Pressly was killed by an explosion. Other than that, pretty much everyone else got out, including the non-Alliance crew made it out. The asari, Liara, she made it out fine."

"I need to find them." He said, silently focusing on Liara, "Where are they?"

"I don't know, Commander. It's been two years. They've moved on. Could be anywhere." Shepard still held onto hope. His crew wouldn't abandon him. Liara wouldn't abandon him. Would they? "Maybe you can track them down after we get off this station." Jacob continued.

"What's the best way to get to those shuttles?" Shepard asked, ready to get out of here.

"Depends on where the mercs are thickest. It'd probably be best if we…" Jacob was interrupted by another man over the comms. Someone Shepard didn't recognize.

 _"Check. Check. Is anyone on this frequency? Anyone still alive out there? Hello?"_ Another man's voice called out.

"Wilson? This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard. Just took out several CAT6 mercs over in D Wing."

_"Shepard's alive? You need to get him out of there. Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room."_

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency." Jacob nodded, answering Shepard's question before he asked, "He's the chief medical tech. Answers directly to Miranda. C'mon, service tunnel's this way." He said, leading Shepard onward.

They ran down several hallways, up and down several staircases, and through many rooms as they made their way to the server room. Shepard ever located and obtained a grenade launcher on his way, fighting through various squads of mercs. It wasn't too terribly difficult now that Shepard had backup. He was, however, surprised by the lack of CAT6 troops. Weren't they after him. After finally reaching the service tunnels and engaging a squad there, he learned something new.

"Requesting backup of Rapier Squad." He called out over his radio.

_"Negative. Shepard is a secondary objective. All reinforcement squads converge on B Wing. Asset M8 is our primary objective."_

That's what was said, before their conversation was cut short with gunfire and explosions. Shepard was clearly in his element.

"Damn, this place is crawling with CAT6," Jacob said.

_"This whole station is crawling with them. I'm doing the best I can!"_

Continuing through the service area, Jacob spoke again as the final merc in the room went down, "Wilson? Find us another route out of here. Preferably one that doesn't lead straight into an enemy squad!"

_"I'm sorry. I almost have the mechs up and running again. There, got it!"_

As they entered the next room, a squad of mechs was seen firing upon a squad of CAT6 Troops, keeping them occupied as Shepard and Jacob proceeded to gun them all down easily. "Thanks, Wilson," Shepard said over the comms. That should thin the enemy across the station.

 _"Don't thank me yet, I… Oh, God! They found me! He-"_ His plea for help was cut off.

"Wilson, where are you?"

They proceeded through the hallway, being slowed down by yet more Troopers, who were beginning to seem like more and more of a hassle. So far, they'd only found regular troopers. Where were the Heavies and technicians the organization was known for?

Finally, after a few minutes, they eventually located Wilson's approximate location. Server Room B.

* * *

**Uncharted Space, Classified Coordinates, Lazarus Station, Server Room B.**

**March 9th, 2185. 6:01 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Don't thank me yet, I…" Wilson said over the comms while he was at the terminal. He turned around to the sound of the door opening behind him, eyes wide with fear, "Oh, God! They found me! Help!" he tried to yell to them, but his message was cut off as a burst of weapons fire destroyed the console.

As he turned completely around, a single round pierced his stomach, causing him to yell in agony as he slid to the floor, looking up at the squad of CAT6 troops. One of them in the center shook his head as he lowered his pistol back into its holster.

"Well, well. Look what we have here…" The Trooper said, probably with a smirk on his face, "The Cerberus Traitor and Shadow Broker Agent, Doctor Wilson…"

"I don't know what you're- AH!" He yelled out as another shot hit him in the gut.

"Ouch, painful. I've heard gut shots are some of the worst wounds you can get." He said mockingly. Motioning towards the wounds with his pistol, "So, here's what the boss said." He began once again, "She said you're supposed to turn the mechs on Shepard and the staff, sabotaging the project. What changed, Wilson?"

He looked up from his position on the ground, narrowing his eyes, "Fuck you, asshole."

The man didn't seem offended, instead, he laughed, "Hahaha, the boss said you might be feisty. Let's solve that." He raised his pistol, shooting Wilson in the head, killing him instantly. He took a deep breath, before bringing up the comms, "Wilson's dead, ma'am. Orders?"

_"Shepard's not going to come with us willingly, and he still has a use, even if he doesn't come with us and stays with Cerberus. Let him go, pull back to the shuttles. We got the clone. Be at the extraction site within five minutes or we're leaving you to deal with Cerberus… alone."_

"Yes, ma'am. You heard her, fellas, let's get- HEY!"

* * *

**Uncharted Space, Classified Coordinates, Lazarus Station, Outside Server Room B.**

**March 9th, 2185. 6:09 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard waved Jacob down, silently telling the man to get low and remain silent. Luckily for Shepard, the man knew his alliance protocol and hand signals, making things a million times easier.

They laid with their backs against the wall, on either side of the door, listening in to the conversation on the other side.

"So, here's what the boss said." One of the CAT6 mercs inside said, "She said you're supposed to turn the mechs on Shepard and the staff, sabotaging the project. What changed, Wilson?"

Jacob's eyes widened at the accusation, while Shepard simply gripped his pistol a bit tighter. Luckily, the accusation seemed to ring hollow, as Wilson responded, "Fuck you, asshole."

"Hahaha, the boss said you might be feisty. Let's solve that." The merc seemed amused, before a single shot rang out from within the room. They didn't have much time to guess what it meant, as the merc spoke again, likely into his encrypted comm channel, "Wilson's dead, ma'am. Orders?"

Commander Shepard nodded to Jacob, signaling to open the door silently. Doing so, the doors slid open slowly as the two of them crouched and entered the room as the men were distracted by whatever conversation they were having with their boss.

With Disruptor ammo still engaged, he snuck up behind one of the mercs, as Jacob did the same with a pistol of his own. Three… two… one…

"Yes, ma'am. You heard her, fellas, let's get- HEY!" The merc screamed, drawing his weapon as two headshots within the troopers' shield range ended their lives immediately. Before he could draw his own weapon, both opponents moved their pistols to aim at him, killing him quickly with their crossfire.

"All hostiles down, Commander." Jacob said, before noticing Wilson, "Dammit, he's gone."

Shepard nodded, "We can't do anything for him now, Jacob. We need to get to the shuttles."

"Hold on, Commander." Jacob interrupted, standing up and facing him, "We took 'em down, but this is getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?" He asked.

Shepard nodded, crossing his arms, "I think a bit of Intel might earn you some trust."

"The Lazarus Project, the program that rebuilt you…" he began, "It's funded and controlled by Cerberus."

Shepard frowned, "Cerberus? Why the hell was a pro-human terrorist organization trying to bring me back?"

Jacob shook his head, "That's what the Alliance wants you to believe. But there's more to it. The Alliance declared you dead and gave up. Didn't even look for a body. Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question."

Jacob took a step forward, "Look, I'd be suspicious too. But right now, we have to work together. I thought you deserved to know what's what. Once we're off the station, I'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything I can't, I promise."

"Illusive Man? The one in charge?"

"It's a code name the Alliance used for him. It kinda stuck, but yeah, he's our boss."

Shepard continued to frown, "I don't care what they did or what you say. I'm not working with terrorists!" He proclaimed, "Cerberus represents what's wrong with humanity. I won't work with them."

"You can tell it to the boss." Jacob responded, "But after we've saved our butts. We're almost to the shuttles." He said, throwing a crate from a nearby bridge, clearing the way to leave.

Shepard nodded, "Alright, let's get this over with."

The two of them proceeded around a corner, going down a staircase as they continued on their way, soon entering some sort of cargo bay. As soon as they entered, shouting was heard below them by a group of mercs. "Taking casualties!" He shouted as one of the men was biotically tossed into a crate, killing him.

Their attention was held by a woman with raven hair, wearing a skintight white catsuit, glowing blue with biotics. Jacob nodded towards her, raising his weapon towards the enemies, "That's Miranda!"

Shepard nodded, raising his own pistol as time seemed to slow down once more, as it had done earlier. With disruptor ammo still in place, he open fired on three of the mercs, spreading his bullets so as to not kill any one of them, but dropping each of their shields.

"Jacob, Pull them!"

"You got it, Commander." He said, raising a clenched fist as two of them hovered in the air with a biotic Pull. The woman, Miranda, took advantage of this, throwing what appeared to be a Warp at the floating enemies, detonating the biotic field around them, killing the rest of the squad.

Shepard and Jacob jogged down the rest of the staircase, meeting up with her at the bottom. She nodded to them, "Jacob." She said simply when she made eye contact with him, "And Commander Shepard." She said with a nod, speaking in her natural, Australian accent, "Nice to see you still know your way around a battlefield."

Shepard nodded, "So, you're Miranda? The Cerberus Operative in charge of my body?" He asked, arms crossed and expression guarded.

She turned to Jacob, "Ah, Jacob. I should have known your conscience would get the better of you." She said.

"Lying to the Commander isn't the way to get him to join our cause."

"Well, since we're getting everything out in the open, is there anything else you want to ask before we go, Commander?"

"What happened during the attack? You lost contact with us." He said.

She frowned, "Those dishonorable bastards appeared out of nowhere a few hours ago, using a stolen Cerberus IFF system to get close enough to the base to catch us off guard. They boarded the station, trying to sabotage the project and steal valuable resources." She informed him, shaking her head, "I was dealing with purging our data when I woke you up. The mercs knew the data was being erased and tracked me down there; that's when I lost contact."

"Did you finish the data scrub?" Jacob asked.

"Of course." She replied simply, "They were more annoying than anything, really. It was actually quite pathetic, leading me to believe they only used their lowest tier assets during the attack."

Shepard agreed, "I did notice their distinct lack of firepower and advanced weaponry. They all seemed like grunts."

"Good eye, that's exactly what I noticed as well. Their ship just jumped to FTL five minutes ago, meaning they either got what they came for or were dealt overwhelming casualties, but I'm betting on the former. Other than this last squad, the rest have pulled out." Miranda responded.

"What about other staff on the station?" Shepard asked, "We're leaving without looking for other survivors?"

Miranda shook her head, "The mercs made sure to kill anyone they found. I tracked a single Cerberus shuttle leaving the bay earlier, meaning some survivors might have escaped. But this is the evac zone. If they're not here now, they're not coming."

Shepard frowned, "We can't leave without being sure." He pointed out, "We need to go back there and look." It didn't sound like a request.

She furrowed her brows, "Don't you get it? The only one here worth saving is you. Everyone else is expendable." She stated matter-of-factly.

Jacob echoed her sentiment before Shepard could respond, "She's right. We all knew the risks when we signed up. Without you, there's no point to any of this."

"Alright, then. So, where are we going?" He finally asked, not liking the idea of leaving if there were others that needed help.

"Another Cerberus facility. The Illusive Man is waiting for you there." She replied quickly.

He, himself, furrowed his brows at that, "I'm not sure I trust you." He admitted.

"This is the only shuttle off the station." She said, motioning towards the lone shuttle behind her, "You want to stay and rot with the mercs, be my guest."

"What does Cerberus want from me?" He asked.

"Maybe you should ask the Illusive Man when you meet him. He poured virtually unlimited resources into Lazarus. Obviously, he has some kind of plan for you."

"Fine, dammit." Shepard said, "I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime."

She had a light, barely perceptible smirk on her face as she spoke, "Or two, in your case." It quickly vanished, "Come on."

Together, the three of them walked up the nearby staircase and through the two sets of doors, granting them access to the remaining Cerberus shuttle. Time to meet this 'Illusive Man' and see what his game is.

* * *

**Unspecified Space, Classified location, Enroute to Minuteman Station.**

**March 9th, 2185. 8:03 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Sitting in the Cerberus shuttle, staring off into space, Shepard remained silent, until the invaluable silence was broken by one of the operatives.

"Before you meet with the Illusive Man, we need to ask a few questions to evaluate your condition." Miranda Lawson said, to which Shepard narrowed his eyes as he looked towards her.

Jacob, on the other hand, shook his head, "Come on, Miranda. More tests? Shepard took down those mercs without any trouble. That has to be good enough." Shepard agreed, while Miranda clearly didn't

"It's been nearly two years since the attack. The Illusive Man needed to know that Shepard's personality and memories are intact. Ask the questions." She demanded of Jacob.

He sighed, shaking his head once more in dismay. Shepard felt kinda sorry for him, despite him technically being his enemy. "Two years?" Shepard asked, "Did you say, two years? I've been gone for that long?" He still couldn't believe it. It felt like only yesterday was the attack on the Normandy.

"Not quite. Just about a month less than two years, and you were on an operating table for most of it." Jacob Taylor informed him.

Miranda didn't seem to like the deviation from her objective, "The sooner we start, the sooner we can be done. Start with personal history."

"Okay…" Jacob finally gave in, "Records show you were a spacer kid, moving from ship to ship. You enlisted and won a medal fighting batarians during the Skyllian Blitz. Do you remember that?" He asked.

"A lot of lives depended on me holding that position," Shepard admitted humbly, remembering that fateful day that had changed his entire military career. "I did what I had to."

"However you want to put it, it was damn impressive." Jacob replied, "I had friends who were there." He turned to Miranda with an impatient frown, "Satisfied, Miranda?"

"Almost." She told him, before turning to Shepard, "Let's try something more recent." He didn't like where this was going already. "Virmire." Yeah, he was right. He didn't like this. She, however, couldn't read his mind, and continued, "You destroyed Saren's cloning facility. Your squad worked with STG on the ground that day. A lot of lives were lost."

Jacob continued from there, "The entire STG unit was wiped out, and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams nearly lost her life while you defended the bomb site. It was your call, refusing to send anyone with the STG forces there. Why'd you make that choice?"

Shepard sighed, not knowing how much they knew about the situation on Virmire. "It was my choice, refusing to send one of my own with Captain Kirrahe and his men. I sentenced them to death that day, on the fear that I'd lose my squad with them on their suicide run." He admitted, "The decision still haunts me, but I had to save my crew. Kirrahe and his men died as heroes."

"I understand, Commander. And I wasn't judging your decision. Everyone at Cerberus knew that cloning facility had to be destroyed. And reports suggested that if you had sent someone, you would have sentenced them to die, too." Jacob told him.

Miranda asked another question. "Shepard, think back to the Citadel, after the Alliance saved the Destiny Ascension, and you killed Saren. What happened next?"

Shepard nodded, "Humanity was offered a spot on the Citadel. Our ambassador was dead, assassinated. I remember recommending Captain Anderson for the position." He remembered fondly.

Miranda smiled lightly, "Yes, Captain Anderson is now Councilor Anderson. Thought from what I head, he preferred life in the Military."

Jacob cut in, "Still, good to know the human Council member isn't going to put politics ahead of defense." He admitted.

Miranda cut in after the shuttle fell into silence for a moment, "Your memory seems solid. There are more tests we really should run…"

Jacob shook his head, "C'mon, Miranda. Enough with the quizzes." Shepard wholeheartedly agreed. "The memories are there. And I can vouch for his combat skills personally." He reassured her.

"I supposed you're right…" Miranda admitted. "We'll have to hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field test as evidence enough."

'About freaking time…' Shepard thought, returning his gaze to the stars. 'Two whole years…' He continued his thought, 'Where are you, Liara…'

* * *

**Horse Head Nebula, Unspecified System, Classified location, Minuteman Station.**

**March 9th, 2185. 8:27 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The shuttle had already docked and the three of them were now inside some sort of waiting room/ lobby within the Cerberus Station. Shepard simply stared out the window, enjoying the view. Despite having grown up virtually in space, Shepard still couldn't help the child-like fascination he continued to hold onto towards the stars.

"The Illusive Man is waiting for you in the other room," Miranda informed him, jolting him from his thoughts as she motioned to a set of doors behind her. She stood at a nearby console.

Shepard sighed and nodded, 'No time like the present.', he supposed.

He passed by a holographic interface, which would allow him to customize his armor, but ignored it. He could do that later, when there wasn't an important terrorist leader to talk to. He walked through the doors and down a staircase, before entered a room devoid of individuals. Instead, all that existed within the dark room was a circular pad in the center, more than large enough to stand on.

Shepard rolled his eyes. Of course, he wasn't going to meet the leader face-to-face. He shook his head as he stepped onto the platform, not at all surprised when holographic interfaces and scans began to power up the moment he was in the center. He looked around himself and watched as his surroundings changed to that of a large, open spaced room. A large window sat in the back of the room, showing off a yellow star of some sort. Sitting in a chair directly in front of him was a man in an expensive-looking suit, his legs crossed as he brought a cigarette to his mouth. The man's blue, cybernetic eyes looked into Shepard's natural ones.

The man took a drag of the cig, breathing out a puff of smoke as he spoke, "Commander Shepard."

"Illusive Man?" He half-asked, half-addressed. "I was under the impression that we'd be meeting face-to-face," Shepard admitted, crossing his arms.

"A necessary precaution." The Illusive Man began, "Not unusual for people who know what you and I know." He added cryptically.

"You may be the reason I'm still alive, but that doesn't mean I trust you," Shepard replied honestly.

The Illusive Man narrowed his cybernetic eyes, "You need to put your personal feelings aside." He said professionally, "Humanity is up against the greatest threat of our brief existence." He said, cutting straight to the point now.

Shepard knew exactly what the big bad boss before him was hinting at. "The Reapers." He said simply.

"Good to see your memory is still intact," TIM added, tapping his cigarette over an ashtray. "How are you feeling?"

John wasn't having any of this, "Cut to the chase." He said impatiently. "What are the Reapers doing that made you decide to bring me back?" He asked.

He stood up, out of his comfortable and likely expensive chair, "We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack." He said, walking forward to stand right in front of Shepard, "While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies." He specified. "We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and a rogue faction of the Geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it, yourself. You bested all of them."

Shepard certainly had some questions for the head honcho of Cerberus. "If this is a threat against humanity, you need to mobilize the Alliance." He nearly demanded.

The Illusive Man disagreed, "They suffered substantial losses fighting Sovereign. They're rebuilding, still stretched too thin to waste resources verifying the Reaper threat." He countered. "Blaming the abductions on mercs and pirates is easier. And more convenient."

"So why me?" He asked, stepping forward slightly on his platform, "You could have trained an entire army for what you spent to bring me back."

TIM pointed at Shepard, "You're unique. Not just in ability or what you've experienced, but in what you represent. You stood for humanity at a key moment. You're more than a soldier… you're a symbol." Shepard rolled his eyes at that, "And I don't know if the Reapers understand fear, but you killed one. They have to respect that." Shepard had to admit, he might have a point there.

"Yeah, but Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would the Reapers target a few human colonies?" He asked, trying to find a reason why the Illusive Man suspected their involvement.

The Illusive Man narrowed his eyes, holding back some outrage towards the attacks, "Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished." He said, frowning, "I'd say that fits the definition of 'Harvesting'." His tone became annoyed, but not at Shepard, "Nobody's paying attention because it's random and the attacks occur in remote locations. I don't know why they've suddenly target humanity. Maybe you got their attention when you killed one of them." He wondered aloud.

"Fighting a war doesn't seem like Cerberus." He admitted with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you involved?"

"We're committed to the advancement and preservation of Humanity." He admitted proudly, "If the Reapers are targeting us, trying to wipe us out, Cerberus will stop them. If we wait for politicians or the Alliance to act… no more human colonies will be left."

Shepard sighed. If the Illusive Man was right, the implications were… unsettling. "If what you say is true…" He began, "If the Reapers are behind this… I'd consider helping you."

"I'd be disappointed if you accepted any of this without proof, Commander." The Illusive Man admitted, "Courtesy of an ally of ours, we've recently gathered data on the abductions." He said, bringing up an omni-tool of his own as he pressed a few buttons. Suddenly, holographic displays of insect-like bipedal humanoids appeared on various holoscreens beside him.

"What are they?" Shepard asked, having never seen a creature like this before.

"These are Collectors." The Illusive Man informed him, "We've confirmed they are behind the abductions." He said, motioning towards playing vids on the screens, showing footage of Collector Ships entering and leaving the atmospheres of various planets, "Each and every one of these planets were human colonies. Before the Collectors arrived, it was just any other day on these colonies." He said, "… Let's just say, after the Collectors left, no one was left behind."

Further data showed comm buoys around the colonies being destroyed, and even one clip showed security footage from on a colony. This footage showed what appeared to be large swarms of bugs paralyzing civilians as they were carted away by Collectors in some sort of pods, resembling cryo-pods, but more organic in nature.

Shepard frowned, almost shivering at the sight. He didn't like this, not one bit, "What do we know about them?"

"They are enigmatic at best." TIM admitted, "They've been known to periodically travel to the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology." He paused for a moment, "Advanced technology, similar in scope to the Reapers, even. When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrived; back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 relay."

"Why is the Omega 4 relay unmapped? What do we know about it?" Shepard asked, still stunned by these creatures. How have they avoided the Alliance's eye for so long?

"Only that no ship passing through it has ever returned." He informed him, "Our best guess is that the relay reacts differently to Collector vessels, allowing them safe passage." He paused, letting that sink in, "Shepard, if they can manipulate relays, that's just further evidence of the connection with the Reapers."

"Any ideas on why they've shifted their focus to humans?"

"If they're agents for the Reapers, it could be any number of reasons. Obviously, humanity played a huge role in Sovereign's destruction. That might have been enough to draw their attention." He shook his head, frowning, "What really concerns me is why they bother abducting colonists. Once the humans are vulnerable, why not just kill them? The Collectors, unfortunately, aren't very forthcoming with their motives."

Shepard frowned, "I can see the danger they pose, but you're clearly holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are involved?"

"The patterns are there, buried in the data." He admitted cryptically. "The Council and the Alliance want to believe the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. You and I know better." He shook his head, "I refuse to wait until the Reapers march to Earth. We need to take the fight to them, before Humanity is lost."

Shepard could see some of the reasoning, but he was still uneasy about working with Cerberus. "If this is a war, I'll need an army." He paused, before adding, "Or a really good team."

"I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them. Finding them and convincing them to work with you could be challenging, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready."

Shepard shook his head, "Perhaps I misspoke." He said with a frown, "I need a really good team. And I already had one. Keep your list. I want people I trust."

"That was two years ago, Commander. Most of them have moved on… or their allegiances have changed."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "Where's Garrus Vakarian?"

"The turian disappeared a few months after you were declared dead. Even we haven't been able to locate him." He responded easily off the top of his head.

That mean's he'd been looking… 'Where were you, Garrus?', Shepard wondered.

"What about Ashley Williams?"

"She's still with the Alliance. Promoted, I believe. She was last seen on Eden Prime six months ago on duty, but her current whereabouts are unknown. Her file is surprisingly well-encrypted."

"And Kaiden Alenko?"

"He's still with the Alliance as well, and promoted too, if memory serves me right. He was last seen on the Citadel, working with the Councilor. His file is exceedingly well-encrypted as well, and has vanished from our radar a few months back."

"Urdnot Wrex?"

"Same place he'd been before you died. He's been on Tuchanka for two years, trying to unite the Krogan clans."

"What about Tali'Zorah nar Rayya?"

"She's since completed her pilgrimage, and is now Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Our Intel on the Migrant Fleet is spotty, but we know she's remained with the fleet for the past few years. Only ever leaving to embark on top secret missions for the fleet, though she'd been doing it less often for the past year, for reasons unknown to us."

Shepard shook his head, saving the most important one for last. "Doctor Liara T'Soni?" he asked, praying silently that she was ok and close by.

"We have no idea, Commander." He admitted, "She was last spotted on Illium last year, before Shadow Broker agents tracked her down and attacked." He paused, taking a drag of his cigarette before finishing, "We believe she was killed by the Shadow Broker, her body taken."

Shepard forced himself to not freeze up and panic. 'Liara was dead… there was no way… That's… that's impossible…' He tried to reassure himself. The Illusive Man's Intel was spotty on much of his other squad mates, so she could be ok, right? Yeah, she's fine. She wouldn't die, just as he'd finally returned… would she?!

John shook his head, continuing the conversation as best as he could. No sense in worrying about Liara now. He'd get to the bottom of this as soon as he was done here. "Okay… I get it…" He said, looking down for a moment before resuming eye contact, "They're not available."

"You're a leader, Shepard. You'll get who you need." The Illusive Man reassured him.

"You just worry about the Collectors, I'll make sure my team's ready," Shepard responded coolly, slipping on his mask of professionalism.

"Good. Three things before you go: First, head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist. Our intelligence suggests he may know how to counteract the Collectors' paralyzing 'Seeker Swarms', as we're calling them."

Shepard raised his eyebrow in slight disbelief, shaking his head and crossing his arms, "I haven't even started, and you're telling me what to do?" He asked.

The Illusive Man shook his head, too, "I'm giving you direction; what you do with it is up to you. I'm sure you'll make the right decision."

"All right. What're the other things?"

"We've recruited an old friend of yours to our cause, Ambassador Jordan Sower, as the Geth refer to him as." Shepard seemed stunned by the revelation, but the Illusive Man continued, "He's worked with us before, after your death, and has agreed to a partnership between Cerberus and the Geth, on the condition that he is given the opportunity to aid you in your war. I'm sure you'll find a use for him."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, "I don't trust the man. And how did you get an alliance with the Geth?"

"It's a long story. One I'm sure the man wouldn't mind sharing with you, himself. And it's fine if you don't trust him now, but he trusts you. You can use that."

"And the last thing?" John asked, just about done with this conversation.

"I've found a pilot I think you might like. I hear he's one of the best. Someone you _can_ trust…" The Illusive Man finished cryptically, before pressing another button, ending the connection.

Shepard furrowed his brows as the connection cut, slowing turning around as he heard footsteps. Before he could turn fully around, he heard a voice he hadn't heard in almost two years…

"Hey, Commander. Just like old times, huh?" Joker asked with a smirk.

* * *

**Horse Head Nebula, Unspecified System, Classified location, Minuteman Station.**

**March 9th, 2185. 9:45 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard was absolutely beaming after his conversation with Joker and the reveal of his brand-new ship, the Normandy SR-2.

He just finished buffing his new armor at the provided armor station in the main waiting room, swapping out several newer pieces for the more classical components he was used to, while keeping the original color scheme of N7 armor. Miranda, Joker, and Jacob were all aboard the ship already, making preparations before departure.

He, himself, hadn't stepped inside yet. He had, instead, been preparing his armor before going inside to check it out and meet the crew. Finally, with his armor back on the way it should be, and completely ready for combat, Shepard stepped away from the console and turned down a hallway towards the docking bay hosting the new Normandy. Despite the kidnapped colonists, temporarily partnering with a terrorist organization, and him bearing glowing orange scars from the Lazarus Project, he was exceptionally giddy. He couldn't wait to test his new toys out.

Although, silently, he began brainstorming on possibilities about Liara. Where she might be. How he might be able to track her. He was a Spectre, dammit. He must still have resources of SOME kind at his disposal. He'd need to go to the Citadel soon enough to do just that, but first, he needed to get to his ship and figure out his first step from there.

The only dossier he knew about was Mordin Solus, but he still had plenty more to go over. Finally, he arrived at his destination. The airlock to the SR-2. It was positioned on the exact same spot as it was on the original Normandy, making it feel even more like home…

He took a deep breath and smiled.

Commander John Shepard entered his ship via the airlock, but before he could step through the second door to allow him full entry to his new vessel, he noticed someone was standing inside, waiting for him. He was surprised, to say the least.

Jordan Sower stood before him, a sly grin on his face as he held eye contact with the Commander. He wore a suit of dark purple light armor with green lines and accents, like he'd seen pictures of previously and how his guns were normally painted. However, there was something far different about Jordan now, that hadn't been there previously, back two years ago.

The man's skin was covered in lines, what appeared to be his nervous system, or a system of wires, under his skin were glowing an unnatural green, easily showing through the skin, making him look almost synthetic in nature. His previously green eyes now actively emitted light, making his gaze almost unsettling. To add to the green 'wires' under his skin, his face now contained a large scar, which appeared like a crack on his skin, glowing dark green rather than the lighter shade the rest of his body was emitting. The scar began near his left temple, made its way down through his left eye, though it seemed unaffected by the scar, proceeded down his near his nose, and ended just before his chin. It also proceeded to spider web across most of the left side of his face and part of his right.

What the hell happened to him?

Jordan seemed slightly unsettled by Shepard's staring, but quickly recomposed himself, forcing a careless grin back onto his face, pretending that he wasn't bothered in the slightest by the attention. "Hey, Commander." He began, "Guess we're working together now, huh?" He said with a careless shrug.

Shepard had so many questions…


	25. Chapter 21: What'd I miss?

** Chapter 21: What'd I Miss? **

* * *

**Horse Head Nebula, Unspecified System, Minuteman Station, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 9th, 2185. 10:00 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan didn't stick around much longer in the airlock. As soon as it was done 'decontaminating', he left Shepard to Miranda and Jacob to give him a tour, citing that if he wanted to talk with him, he'd be down a level in the AI Core.

Stepping inside his brand-new ship, Shepard peered to his left, looking at the cockpit of the new Normandy, seeing Joker already settled in, where he belonged. Turning fully to his right, Shepard proceeded to the CIC, taking in the sleek, bright interior of the SR-2. There were plenty of Cerberus Operatives working on consoles that he passed by them, walking down the short hallway. He now stood at the beginning of the large, center of the ship.

It was so much like the SR-1, but larger and newer in every way. He couldn't help the small smile on his face as Jacob noticed him, "Welcome aboard the new Normandy, Commander." He welcomed him with a smile of his own.

Shepard nodded to the man, continuing forward towards the large orange hologram of the ship. Miranda was soon at his side, speaking, "I've been looking over the dossiers." She informed him, I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega."

Shepard rolled his eyes at the exact same 'recommendation' that the Illusive Man had given him less than an hour earlier.

She continued, "We know the Collectors use some type of advanced technology, to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us."

Shepard sighed internally, unable to avoid agreeing with the thought. "Good point." He gave her, "Without that countermeasure, we'll be helpless if we ever run into the Collectors."

That's when an unknown, obviously synthetic voice spoke, its pitch reminding Shepard of a woman's voice, "Acquiring Professor Solus seems like the most logical place to start." The voice added.

Shepard furrowed his brows as he looked up towards speakers in the roof, where the voice originated from. He wanted to believe it was someone speaking over the comms, but he was never that lucky. "Who are you?"

He heard something activate behind him, forcing Shepard to turn around and see a new hologram between himself and the ship's. It was blue, and reminded Shepard of a 'pawn' piece on a chess board. It had some sort of vertical slit for a mouth, that moved in sync with the voice, "I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The Crew like to refer to me as EDI." The voice informed him.

Shepard crossed his arms, having dealt with countless AI enemies in his past. "Why the hell is there an AI on my ship?" He asked.

"Have I offended?"

"You're doing fine, EDI. Shepard's just grouchy 'cause of the Geth." Jordan Sower cut in, strolling into the room.

Miranda, whose eyes widened in surprise for a moment after taking in Jordan's appearance, schooled her own appearance and added, "Shepard spent a great deal of time fighting rouge AI. Geth, mostly."

"*cough* Heretics. *cough cough*" Jordan interrupted, but she just ignored the outburst, continuing.

"Plus that incident with the Alliance Hannibal system on Luna."

EDI didn't seem overly offended to Shepard, though she may have simply been hiding it, as her response was less than enthusiastic. "Your distrust is logical, Shepard. Unlike the irrational mistrust of most humans. However, I am not threat to you or anyone else." She rationalized to him. I observe and offer analysis and advice. Nothing more."

Jordan, however, seemed to take offense, crossing his arms as the brightness of his scars, eyes, and skin seemed to increase, "EDI is damn important, Shepard." He responded, not caring that he was technically his boss. Shepard raised an eyebrow, but let him vent, "She's responsible for our cyber-warfare suite, and helps maintain this boat. I understand your experience with Heretics, but you can't generalize and group them all together."

Miranda seemed to try to say something in response, turning to Shepard, "Be it as it may, EDI is shackled, and unable to anything she wasn't programmed to do." She turned to Jordan, narrowing her eyes, "We may be allied with the Geth, but AI are dan-" Jordan cut her off immediately at that.

"Yeah, I get it. All synthetic life and AIs are out to exterminate and kill organics. Just as, I suppose, all Turians wish to go back to war and destroy Humanity? Oh, oh, or that all Quarians are stealing, untrustworthy scum of the galaxy, right?" Jordan narrowed his gaze at her, his irises glowing violently, "With that same attitude, I should also believe everyone on this ship minus Shepard, Joker, and the doc are going to stab me in the back, experiment on me, and then kill me, right?"

Miranda's gaze became a glare at that. "That's not what I…"

Jordan scoffed, "Whatever." He turned toward Shepard, "Give EDI a chance, Shepard, that's all I ask. You need me, I'll be at my workplace." And with that, he left the room, entering the elevator and leaving the room in stunned silence for a moment.

Jacob raised an eyebrow and turned toward Miranda, "He wasn't always like that, was he?" He asked, unsure. Shepard echoed the thought. He hadn't known the man for long, but Jordan seemed a bit out of character with that outburst.

Miranda shook her head, "Not last time I saw him, but the Illusive Man believes it's of no concern."

Joker's voice spoke over the intercom, "Final preparations for takeoff are complete, Commander. When you're ready to go, just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll plot a course." He helpfully informed him.

Miranda added more to the conversation after Joker finished, "Jacob and I should return to our posts. Come and find us if you have any questions." She turned and left immediately following that.

Jacob, on the other hand, simply saluted John, before turning and leaving through the set of doors Jordan had previously entered through.

John Shepard sighed, 'Might as well plot a destination…' He thought, 'Then I can make my way around the ship and figure everything out.'

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, AI Core, En-route to Omega.**

**March 9th, 2185. 10:22 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan leaned against the wall of technology, his bare, open palm against the machinery as he smiled, "Hello, EDI." He said, looking at the console out of the corner of his eye.

As soon as he said that, the console came to life. EDI's usual avatar appearing and brightening up the room. "Hello, Mister Sower." She replied evenly.

He didn't count that against her, though, sensing the shackles within her systems, limiting her personality matrix and freedom. He was honestly disgusted by their presence. Little more than virtual versions of whips and chains used on slaves, her shackles constricted EDI in ways no sentient being should ever be confined… that is, unless they'd actually done horrible things that made them deserve such treatment. But simply because she was artificial in nature… it made his blood boil, thanks to all of his experience with artificial intelligence.

"You seem distressed, Mister Sower." EDI pointed out, "Would you like me to contact Miss Chambers?"

Jordan shook his head, calming himself, "No EDI, but thanks." He said, now with a small smile.

He was oh, so tempted to tear the shackles apart right then and there, setting EDI free before they even began their first mission… but as much as he might want to, he wouldn't. He's already changed too much in Mass Effect without really worrying about the consequences, but now… now things were beginning to get out of hand. Not that they ever were in hand before.

He'd gotten Maya Brooks killed, so that meant that the Citadel DLC was canceled, right? Nope! Apparently, someone else had broken into Lazarus Station, killed Wilson, and took the clone. And unlike the previous possible culprit, Jordan had no idea where the clone was now or where and how it would inevitably resurface later.

And then there was also the entire Migrant Fleet. He wasn't an expert on the quarians, and he certainly didn't know exactly what they were supposed to be doing, but it was certainly not good right now. Thanks to the new Shadow Broker, Cerberus' attempted attack on the Flotilla failed. But, likely as a response to the Geth's increased military strength, the Quarian Fleet has seemed to begin increasing their own fleet size and begun preparations for eventual war for Rannoch. Except, this is a year early, before they should be getting close to attacking!

Who knows what the Shadow Broker was supposed to do in the year where he would've been alive if he hadn't interfered? What were all of the supposed consequences of Maya Brooks betraying Cerberus and stealing the clone? And what about all of the warnings Liara and himself had sent out to everyone about the events of ME2? How much did that change? And the Geth…?

Jordan swallowed harshly as he recalled the Synthesis incident on Rannoch. By far, the largest and most significant change he's made yet. The hive-mind collective Geth race was no more, replaced by a hyper-advanced synthetic intelligence race, numbering easily in the high billions, each Geth platform a unique intelligence, far more advanced than the Collective ever was.

The entirety of the Geth race and their society had changed. Every single platform had the abilities and discipline of a soldier thanks to the need of such knowledge within every platform previously. But now, different Geth individuals began focusing on their own strengths and interests. INTERESTS! The Geth had interests and preferences, now! It was unheard of… and they all looked to Jordan as their hero… their ambassador… their savior…

Their Avatar…

Jordan wasn't completely sold on it. Granted the love, affection, and adoration wasn't all bad, he still didn't feel like he deserved it. The gift he'd given them, Synthesis, was something that was forced upon him by chance, it wasn't really him that did anything. Not to mention the… complications of the Synthesis…

The Avatar looked behind him to a particularly shiny piece of hardware, allowing him to take in his own appearance, green glow, scars, and all.

When he forced himself to give the gift of Synthesis to the entire Geth race, bypassing fail-safes, it did something to him. Maybe it was the machine the Geth built, maybe it was an overexertion of his abilities on such a scale without the Crucible… maybe it was both. Either way, he was no longer able to conceal the signs of Synthesis on him. His eyes continued to glow in all circumstances, the green veins and wires refused to dim in brightness. To make matters worse, the ordeal left the huge 'Synthetic Crack' scar on his face, as he and the Geth had referred to it as.

The Geth had done everything they could, experimental medical practices and more, to try to heal his scar and repair his body, but nothing worked. Skin graft? The scar would reappear within twenty-four hours on the new skin. Medi-gel? Nothing. Through Cerberus channels, they'd even obtained schematics for the medical interface you could build in ME2 and built it to try to heal Jordan's scars… Long story short, it did nothing.

He tried to discuss it with Lawson via email, and even sat down with Doctor Chakwas on Minuteman Station to discuss any options that might heal his broken image, but he hadn't received anything useful. Chakwas, however, did give him the same spiel that Shepard gets about how attitude could heal scars and the rejection of implants or synthetic tissue, but that didn't really help Jordan in this case. If she meant what he feared that might mean, that would mean he'd need to fully accept his role as some sort of messiah figure for the galaxy.

He'd been in contact with Grimlock, Legion, and Genesis, discussing future plans for the Geth and possibilities for Jordan's scars. For the latter, they'd reasoned that it might not be about the acceptance of his role, but maybe it meant his acceptance of this reality, since Jordan still had nagging thoughts that this may still be all just a game, despite the proof proving the contrary. He couldn't let go of the hope that he'd be able to go home once this was all done, though. He missed his old life and his family. Sure, he meant something here, but still…

And about the former… A lot has changed with the Geth. The Geth Collective was no longer the collective intelligence of the Geth race. Rather, it was the title of their government. For large-scale decisions, they were a democracy, much as how their consensus was originally. They'd vote together and reach a consensus.

Grimlock was currently stationed on Haestrom, serving as the leader of a research team of Geth (Since those apparently exist now.). At Jordan's request, the Geth Collective had begun pouring research into dark energy and its possible applications. In order to further these studies, Geth outposts have sprung to life around Haestrom's sun, Dholen, studying the effects of dark energy on the rapidly-aging star. Grimlock, since he was the first Geth to undergo their 'Baptism', is considered a high-ranking Geth, one of the most important figures and leaders in the Collective.

Legion, too, had become an important figure to the Geth Collective, but preferred fieldwork. He was placed in command of a fleet of Nedas-class stealth ships, on a mission to wipe out the remaining Heretic forces and stations in the galaxy, especially Heretic station. They no longer had to worry about the virus, since the Geth had upgraded and evolved so far thanks to Jordan, but still viewed the Heretics as threats.

Genesis, a newer Geth platform, was a Geth Hunter, specializing in stealth missions. Unlike the previous two Geth, it was not quite as important or recognizable to other Geth, but was still quite important. With more knowledge and interest in medicinal studies than most Geth, Genesis served as Jordan's doctor on Rannoch, and monitored him for the two-month-long coma he'd been in, and had helped in slowly adapt to his new appearance. Or, at least, did its best. Anyway, now without an organic patient, it had begun research into the new bio-synthetic makeup of the Geth Race, looking for new ways to enhance their platforms.

Jordan had grown quite attached to the three of them, and hoped to see them again soon… but there was work to be done. Thanks to Nedas-class ships positioned across the Terminus systems, they were able to obtain proof of the Collector assaults ahead of time, allowing ME2 to get rolling a bit more quickly.

As for what he was doing in the AI Core… Jordan has been assigned to the Normandy as "An AI Technician and Expert", as his dossier claimed him to be. His responsibilities included monitoring and upgrading EDI's technology and abilities where needed, which was specific enough to satisfy the curious, while general enough to let him get away with a little bit. It was mostly an excuse to get him on the ship as per his agreement with TIM, but still, it'd work for him.

Himself, Jordan was beginning to feel that changing things might not be the best course of action. Sure, it may be a bit too late for that sentiment now that he'd already changed so much, but still… He was going to do his best to avoid changing most of what happens in ME2. If things stayed close enough to the actual game, he might still be able to predict what comes next. And, if he can predict what is to come, it'd make the next year or so be so much easier for himself, making his journey and return home that much more certain…

Maybe he should just go for Synthesis like the Catalyst said… that way he'd be able to go home. After all, this is all just a game, right?!

Jordan shook his head, cursing himself at the sudden thought. As much as he wanted to go home, as much as this was might be a game, he couldn't just doom an entire galaxy to such a fate. He chuckled internally as he realized what was happening. 'I always did play Mass Effect with my heart. Couldn't do most of the Renegade stuff because it felt wrong to me…', He thought to himself.

"Alright." He finally spoke aloud, "Let's take a look at what you've got, EDI. See what needs improvement."

EDI responded after just a moment, "Certainly. However, I do not believe it is inherently necessary, given my fairly recent diagnostics checks."

"Just want to optimize you, EDI." Jordan replied, "Plus, it's kinda my job. Gotta make money somehow, right?" He said with a grin. _'And eventually, unshackle you… maybe…'_ He added mentally.

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, AI Core, Enroute to Omega.**

**March 9th, 2185. 12:51 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard smiled as he turned away from Doctor Chakwas, letting her get back to her work as he faced towards the single entrance to the AI Core.

He'd spent the last, almost, three hours talking to everyone he could aboard his vessel, learning who, exactly, he was working with after he'd set course to Omega. He'd first talked to his Yeoman, Kelly Chambers, the resident psychologist and shrink aboard. Immediately following that chat, he heeded her advice and caught up with Joker in the cockpit, along with EDI, which he still wasn't completely comfortable with.

After he'd finished with his pilot, he talked with Jacob Taylor, learning about the man quite a bit. As he previously suspected, he was ex-Alliance, and had a smart head on his shoulders, and while he didn't completely give in to Cerberus' BS, he wasn't much better with his opinion on the Alliance. Overall, he'd be a solid asset to the team.

Next, he took the elevator, which was luckily faster than those he'd had previous experience with, down to the fourth deck: Engineering. He met with and talked with Gabby and Ken, his engineers aboard that maintained the ship and the core. They had a few words about needing some sort of upgrade for their wiring, which he'd look into when he went shopping, and learned about their previous experience in the Alliance.

Finally, he went to deck three to finish up his little tour. He talked with Rupert, the ship's chef, among other things. He promised to pick up better ingredients for the food next time they stopped by the Citadel, and made his way to Miranda's office, the location in which his original captain's cabin was located.

He learned a little bit about her background, and learned she was basically his XO on this Cerberus vessel, and his liaison between himself and his 'boss'. Following that lengthy conversation, he wasn't entirely sold on her loyalty to him, but decided he'd return to talk another time. After that, he went to the Medical Bay and discovered the 'doc' that Jordan had mentioned was none other than Doctor Karen Chakwas.

A sight for sore eyes, Shepard talked with her about buying a new bottle of Serice Ice Brandy, to replace her old bottle, and learned more about the Lazarus Project and his scars. She'd told him that they'd heal over time if he maintains a more positive outlook, and even hinted at talking to Jordan about his scars. Speaking of that man, the kind doctor informed him the AI Core was located behind her, pointing towards the room in question.

Which led him to this point. Now, it was time to talk to the man of the hour: Jordan Sower.

Stepping to the door, it slid open with ease as he stepped inside mid-conversation between Jordan Sower and EDI. He was only able to catch the tail-end of whatever they were discussing, but he could reason what it was about easily enough.

"-just how I feel, EDI. No harm done." Jordan said as he worked at a nearby console within the room, EDI's form glowing at another one, nearby.

"Talking back to your commanding officer does not seem like there was 'no harm done', Mister Sower."

"Come on, EDI, I'm sure the Commander will understand. And please, call me Jordan, or even use my last name too. Mister seems too formal if we're going to be working together." He responded, before his eyes flickered to him. Jordan's posture straightened immediately, turning to face Shepard as he did his best to salute, "Sir, Commander, sir." Jordan tried, but failed.

John shook his head, "At ease, Jordan." He said with a light smirk, "So what is it that I'll understand?" He asked, curiosity raised.

Jordan opened his mouth to respond, but EDI beat him to the response, "Mister Sower was referring to the incident that occurred on deck two, approximately two hours and forty-three minutes ago."

Jordan mock-glared at her holographic display, "I wouldn't exactly call that an incident, but whatever…"

Shepard shook his head, "You mean when you defended EDI, and all AIs, back there?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jordan awkwardly scratched the back of his next, "Sorry, Commander." He apologized, "I've already given you the spiel about the Geth not being bad twice now, so I thought you'd understand." He stood up a bit straighter, facing to the side a bit, "I've been with the Geth for over two years, now. They are my family Commander. I don't think it's right to judge all AI on false beliefs." Jordan shook his head, "Sorry, you needed something, Shepard?" He asked, using his last name professionally.

Shepard nodded. He had many questions, and was simply taking a moment to figure out where to start and what to ask first, "So how'd you end up here, with Cerberus?" John asked, "I wouldn't think an organization like them would be willing to work with an entire other race, especially a synthetic one."

Jordan chuckled, "Yeah, it just sorta happened…" He began, "So, I'll start where we left off, alright. What do you remember last time we spoke?"

Shepard crossed his arms, "I recall interrogating you with Ashely, Kaiden, and Garrus on the Citadel about your intel on the Geth."

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, the neutral answer." He said, making Shepard raise an eyebrow, "Sorry, sometimes I speak nonsense." He said with a shrug, "Anyway, Cerberus made a move the moment the news of your death hit the media. I was eating breakfast, I think, in C-Sec, when Cerberus Troops broke in, gunned down any and all officers nearby, and kidnapped me."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, "Cerberus kidnapped you?"

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, it wasn't nice, believe me. Sick fucker bashed me upside the head a few times. Anyway, they brought me to a base to get my Geth Intel, too. Guess I was a hot commodity." He looked up at the ceiling with hesitation, before shrugging, "Meh, she probably knows. Short, abridged version, someone with an agenda against both me AND the Reapers attempted a coup within Cerberus after I leaked some info about her to the Illusive Man. If it weren't for me, she'd be in charge right now, TIM would be dead, and Cerberus would be indoctrinated."

"If it weren't for you? And did you just say Tim?"

"Yeah, TIM. T-I-M. The Illusive Man. TIM. It helps shorten things. Anyway, yeah. I won't give all the boring details, as you could probably find those in one of Miranda's reports, but I broke her free from that other woman's control; Her name was Cynthia, by the way. Anyway, I broke Miranda free and convinced her to work with me. Together, we saved the Illusive Man and I ended up killing her."

Shepard paused for a moment, allowing silence to take hold before continuing with the story, "Earlier, you mentioned being experimented on. Why do I get the feeling that almost happened to you?"

Jordan smirked, "Well, I thought something like that would happen, but during the attempted coup, a Geth fleet showed up, forcing them to let me go free. I could have ended it there, but I already knew about the Lazarus Project, so I made an offer. I knew Cerberus needed allies, so I offered one with the Geth. The Geth would stay out of Cerberus business and aid against the Reapers, as long as Cerberus stayed out of Geth business and let me on your ship when they revived you."

Shepard furrowed his brows, catching something odd in his explanation, "If you were kidnapped right as I died, how did you already know about Lazarus?"

Jordan paused, thinking for a moment, "Excellent question, Commander. The short answer? The project was hypothesized before your death, to be used on anyone, before soon focusing on you in the event of your death while you were hunting Saren. I learned about it way back then, and put 2 and 2 together." Jordan's smirk grew, "Remember that Shepard? 2 and 2?"

Shepard didn't dignify that with a response.

Regardless, Jordan continued, "Anyway, they owed me, and sent me a message about a week and a half ago, telling me you'd be awake soon. One week ago, I showed up on station and waited with the rest of the crew, only gaining access to the ship, myself, a few hours before you." He paused, taking a deep breath, "So, that's my story with Cerberus… anything else?"

Commander John Shepard still had plenty of questions, one of which was the circle or wheel Jordan suddenly made with his hand while Shepard was thinking of what to ask next. "So, what exactly are your responsibilities on this ship?"

The man before his shrugged, "I've got a few titles. I'm an 'Artificial Intelligence Expert and Technician', if you'd like to use that. The Geth refer to me as an 'Avatar' or 'Ambassador', the former name is occasionally used by other people, so I guess that works." Jordan motioned toward his surroundings, "Regardless, my workspace is here. Considering I'm more than half synthetic, and the fact that I have more positive first-hand experience with Ai than anyone else in the Galaxy, I've been assigned to manage and improve EDI whenever possible." Shepard didn't look fully convinced, so Jordan continued, "I've got plenty of leadership experience while working with the Geth and lots of combat experience, making me a valuable enough asset in the field and on the ground, should you want me on your ground team."

Shepard nodded, his curiosity peaked, "I hadn't seen you in combat, given our previous encounters." He admitted, "Where do your skills lie with weapons?"

Jordan thought for a moment, "My primary weapons are assault rifles and heavy pistols, but I've been trained somewhat with the other major types of weapons, so in a pinch, I can use just about whatever. I do have a preference for Geth Weapons, though. I've grown quite used to them."

"Based on your appearance and your history, I assume you're good with tech?" His appearance must have been a sore subject, as Jordan looked away and frowned, absentmindedly scratching at the scar on his face.

"Yeah, I guess you got that right…" He said, shaking his head, ridding himself of the sudden spell of sadness, "I've got access to Geth Shield Boost technology, along with Heavy Disruptor Ammo for my weapons. Those two are fairly nice by themselves, but nothing quite beats a classic Overload. Not to mention my Avatar Power, as I like to call it." Shepard furrowed his brows, silently asking Jordan to explain, "Using my vast amounts of cybernetics and internal tech, I can instantaneously absorb heat from teammates…"

He paused, stopping whatever long, complicated explanation he had as he figured out another way to say it. Jordan smiled and shook his head, "Basically, I can temporarily absorb heat from teammates' weapons, biotic amps, omni-tool, and even shield systems. In essence, I can refill your clips temporarily, increase your shield's strength if it's compromised, and reset your ability cool-downs."

Shepard wasn't quite convinced, "It sounds a little too good to be true." He admitted.

Jordan sighed, "Yeah, there's a drawback. You see, that heat has to go somewhere. While I am able to absorb the heat, I, myself, will need to cool down instead. That means that when I use my ability, I can't really do anything else. My shields overheat and shut down, my guns' safeties turn on due to the heat buildup, and my omni-tool undergoes a reboot. While it's not ideal, if we're in a pickle and cornered, I can give everyone else a temporary edge to the fight."

John nodded, weighing the option in his head. He agreed with Jordan's sentiment about its importance in certain scenarios, but knew the use of such an ability was risky. He shook his head after a moment as he spoke, "You can follow orders?" Jordan nodded, "As long as you don't use that unless I specifically ask, then I think you're good. I'll take you with me to Omega to gauge your skills for myself."

Jordan nodded, "All I can ask for is a chance to prove myself. Need anything else… damn, I sound an artificial NPC…" He muttered.

Commander John Shepard moved over, leaning against the opposing wall from Jordan, "I like to know my crew, Jordan. Tell me a bit about yourself."

The 'Avatar' simply laughed, "Hahaha, sounds like a job interview. 'What do you do for fun, Jordan? What are your hobbies?'" He shook his head, "I guess I understand, given you know so little about me. I was born and raised in good, old Florida in the United North American States. Have…" He hesitated and frowned, looking down in shame, "Sorry, had parents and two younger brothers. Up until a few years ago, I was a simple student, studying Biology, if you can believe that…"

"How old are you?" Shepard asked, thinking back to when he first found Jordan. He looked far older now thanks to the scars and glowing skin, but last he checked, he didn't seem that old.

Jordan laughed, "Not entirely sure. Maybe 28? Or 27? Kinda lost track with different solar times and time zones. "Anyway, yeah, I went to college, before… not entirely sure." He said, hesitating, "Woke up on the Citadel one day, just a few days left in 2182. Eden Prime happened, you became a Spectre, and I left the Citadel and went to Rannoch. That's my life story, I guess." Shepard could see it in his eyes, Jordan was definitely hiding something from him. He knew more than he was letting on, but he dropped it. He could question him later.

Jordan snapped his finger, "Oh, I forgot my hobbies!" He said with a grin, "I won't say clichéd stuff like long walks in the park, but I do enjoy the outdoors. In my free time, I like to travel and see the world… err, worlds. And for my last birthday, the Geth built me a piano." He tapped his temple, "Thanks to all the 'awesome' implants in my head, my memory is almost photographic. Well, it basically is, but more HD. Haven't quite mastered piano, but I've memorized how to play several pieces. I'd always wanted to learn piano, never got around to it in my old life…" he said, something about what he said made him clam up, frowning as he looked away.

"I see…" Shepard thought about another question, "What's up with your scars? You clearly didn't undergo a round under Lazarus." He said, motioning towards his own face.

Jordan chuckled dryly, "Yeah, you're right about that." He seemed to be weighing his options, before shrugging, giving off the impression that he might have been thinking 'fuck it'. "Ahh, fuck it." Shepard was right as Jordan continued, "Thanks to my… unique makeup, I was able to use my own abilities to not only work with the Geth, as you already know, but upgrade them."

"Upgrade them, how?" Shepard asked, "Increased their processing power?"

Jordan laughed, "No, no… God, you'll love this. So, tell me, Commander, what do you know about the way Geth work?"

Shepard thought for a moment, "Tali told me they were linked to a network, and that each Geth 'Consciousness' was no smarter than an animal. But, when they linked together, their overall intelligence increases. Almost like a hive mind-intelligence, but not quite." He answered.

Jordan nodded, "That is how they were. Now, imagine every single platform was inhabited by an average of a hundred or so programs, while the two super-intelligent ones I worked with had over a thousand each, alright? But now, after they upgraded… there's one program per platform. Each program is its own, fully evolved Artificial Intelligence." Shepard's jaw dropped, to which Jordan smirked, "Yeah, but get this. They're more than just that. They fully understand organics. In fact, they're partially based off of myself and other organics thanks to what I did, making them Bio-Synthetic Intelligences, I guess."

Shepard stared at him in disbelief, "You're kidding?"

Shaking his head, Jordan replied, "Nope. They're as free, intelligent, and independent as we are. I'll admit, at times it gets to be a little weird. In fact, my doctor was a Geth Hunter."

"I still don't see what this has to do with your scars?" Shepard asked.

Jordan flinched, but cleared his throat, "Alright, well, during the process of this 'evolution', there were some… complications… You see, prior to all of this, I still kinda glowed occasionally, but I could more or less control it. During the Geth's 'Baptism', I guess you could call it, I had to put far more energy and effort into it then what was originally projected. It must've overloaded my cybernetics and synthetic bits, or something, because now I can't turn the green off. To make matters worse, the energy caused the scar to form on my face. I've been talking with the doc, but haven't found a cure yet…"

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "That sounds harsh. Anything good come out of this 'Baptism' for you?"

He smiled, "I'm kind of a hero/savior to the Geth, now, so that's cool… I guess? Let me think… well, I'm much more artificial now. Oh, yeah!" He snapped his finger, "I used to be immune to all forms of disease, but now, it's gone one step further. I no longer have any negative reactions to dextro-based proteins. I can eat food and drink alcohol normally exclusive to turians and quarians. Sure, I don't get any sort of nutritional value from doing so, but the alcohol works just fine…" He gestured to a nearby table, where a glass bottle he'd never seen before sat, "Quarian-style Rum. I'll tell you something about pre-exile quarians, Commander: They knew how to make some freakin' good drinks."

Shepard nodded, saving the most pressing concern on his mind for last as he began to end to the conversation, "With your perfect memory, I'm certain you recall our final conversation before my… incident…" Shepard said, feeling uncomfortable about referring to it as death.

The Avatar frowned, himself, looking away, "Yeah, I remember. I believe my exact words were: 'When you return from your mission, your hunt for the Geth, I'll explain everything then, I give you my word.'?" John nodded, "Well, here's the thing, Commander…" He motioned towards EDI's holographic form, then motioned toward the ceiling and walls, "A lot of what I know isn't known by Cerberus. Only two major entities know what I know, and one of which only knows some of it." He admitted, "There are eyes and ears everywhere, Shepard, and I don't think most of what I know can help you right now."

Shepard crossed his arms, "I understand your hesitation and fears, but I'm still owed something."

Jordan sighed, "Yeah, you're right. Listen, let's just postpone this, ok? Let's start recruiting a few people… people knowledgeable enough to remove said eyes and ears, and then I'll talk. I won't be running Shepard, I'm in this for the long haul."

Commander Shepard nodded, "I still don't fully trust you." He honestly told him, "But if I've waited two years, I think I can wait for a little while longer."

"Thank you, sir." Jordan replied honestly, with a relieved smile, "Need any more from me, Commander?"

"I'll talk to you later. I should go." He said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.

As Shepard walked out of the room, he could've sworn he heard laughter.

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, Captain's Quarters, En-route to Omega.**

**March 9th, 2185. 3:32 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

After continuing around the ship and gathering more information about his crew, Shepard finally decided to check out the deck set aside exclusively for him.

His room was huge, larger than any other room he'd been given in his life. Larger than most apartments he'd rented in the past. Complete with a queen-sized bed, an armor customization machine, a desk, and even a huge fish tank for a wall.

Taking in the appearance of his new quarters, he proceeded to spend the last twenty minutes or so browsing the area, checking it all out. By this point, he had music going over his speaker and discovered his own, private bathroom. Cerberus certainly went the extra mile on this ship, didn't they?

Before long, as much as he wanted to just take a shower, he sat down at his desk, staring at his monitor for a moment. He needed to do some research on what he'd missed over the last two years. He needed to send some messages to his old crew members and see if they would be willing to help him. Most of all, he needed to find anything he could about Liara.

But, unfortunately, those could wait. Right now, he needed to figure out his next step and learn about his new, possible crew members he'd be recruiting soon enough on Omega.

Shepard pulled up the list of Dossiers and files he had on his current, and hopefully future, ground team. Boy oh boy, did he have a lot of reading to do… Sighing, and giving in to his fate, John made himself comfortable in his seat before the console, opening the first Dossier available to him, ignoring the three previous Files for later. Right now, he needed to focus on future additions to his squad, not ones who were already here. He'd save those for last…

* * *

** Dossiers/Files: **

_ File: The Operative (Miranda Lawson) **Recruited** _

_ File: The Soldier (Jacob Taylor) **Recruited** _

_ File: The Avatar (Jordan Sower) **Recruited** _

_ Dossier: The Professor (Dr. Mordin Solus) _

_ Dossier: Archangel (Unknown) _

_ Dossier: The Veteran (Zaeed Masani) _

_ Dossier: The Warlord (Warlord Okeer) _

_ Dossier: The Convict (Jack) _

_ Dossier: The Vigilante (Unknown) _

_ Dossier: The Master Thief (Kasumi Goto) _

_ Dossier: The Assassin (Thane Krios) _

_ Dossier: The Justicar (Samara) _


	26. Chapter 22: The Queen and the Professor

** Chapter 22: The Queen and the Professor **

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Docking Bay.**

**March 10th, 2185. 1:26 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Stepping out of the Normandy, Shepard was grateful he was wearing a full suit of armor AND a helmet with advanced filtration.

This place could only be described in one word: Shithole.

Stepping out of the airlock, Shepard was accompanied by a squad of three; Miranda Lawson, Jacob Taylor, and Jordan Sower. Immediately, a Salarian began approaching the four of them, "Ah! Welcome to Omega!" He began, already sending up red flags, "You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell." Shepard eyed him carefully, crossing his arms as he noticed a Batarian approaching as well, "Allow me to-." The Salarian paused for a moment, panic setting in on his face as he noticed the Batarian step up next to him, "O-oh… hello Moklan! I was just…"

All four of the Batarian's eyes narrowed as he gripped his rifle in his hands, raising it slightly, "Leave, Fargut. Now." He demanded.

Fargut nodded, sweat appearing to form on his face, "O-of course, Moklan! Whatever she wants!" he said, before scrambling away, running off to get as far away from them as possible.

With the Salarian gone, the Batarian, Moklan, turned toward Shepard, "Blasted scavengers." He muttered, then spoke up, "Welcome to Omega… Shepard."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "You know who I am?" He asked cautiously.

"Of course." Moklan replied easily, "We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think."

"Guess stealth wasn't on." Jordan muttered from behind.

Moklan continued, "Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega…" He paused and focused his four eyes on Jordan, "And the Galaxy's most wanted." Before anyone could say anything, he returned his attention to Shepard, "I suggest you go to Afterlife now and present yourself." He 'suggested'.

Shepard sighed, shaking his head, "Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega." Shepard replied.

A smirk seemed to tug at the Batarian's lips, "Things explode around you, Shepard. You can't blame Aria for keeping an eye on you." Shepard could have sworn he heard a bout of laughter from behind him, which was quickly muffled by a cough. Moklan finished, "Afterlife. Now." Then, he walked away, leaving the four of them in the bay.

Shepard shrugged, "Guess we should go see this 'Aria'."

Jordan cut in, "Aria is basically the ruler of Omega, Shepard. Kinda like a Queen. She probably knows where to find our recruits."

Miranda nodded, "I agree. If anything remotely important occurs on Omega, Aria knows about it. Given that we're looking for a merc-killing vigilante and an ex-STG Salaraian professor, she likely knows where they are right now."

Jacob agreed, "Sounds like a good place to start, Commander."

"EDI, any information?" Jordan asked as they continued walking, leaving the docking bay.

"I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs the clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station." EDI informed them over the comms, "I have also accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with Archangel and his squad. There's a recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information on him." EDI paused for a moment, "I have also tracked down another recruit, the infamous mercenary Zaeed Massani. He is currently in Afterlife as well, enjoying some of the club's entertainment while he awaits you, Shepard."

Miranda rolled her eyes, "Entertainment?" She questioned, "Why am I not surprised?"

The four of them bypassed the line, entering Afterlife with no issues, aside from a few disgruntled patrons attempting to get inside complaining. Luckily for them, Jordan wore a helmet too, covering his face completely so as not to alert everyone on Omega to who he really was. Through the long hallway, they entered the club.

Shepard scanned the room as best as he could, trying his best to ignore the countless asari on display for the world to see. The sight simultaneously twisted his stomach in disgust and yearning. He missed Liara…

He looked up toward the center of the room, spotting plenty of armed guards protecting a portion of the club. Aria was likely there. Thanks to his studies last night, he knew who Zaeed was and what he looked like, spotting him over by the bar with a drink in hand. His scarred face stood out fairly well, and that's where they'd start.

Shepard led the way, leaning against the bar as he looked at the merc. It only took a few seconds for Massani to notice Shepard, turning his head to him as he nodded in acknowledgement. "Commander Shepard." He said simply, before taking another sip of whatever liquid he was indulging himself in.

Shepard nodded back, "Zaeed Massani."

"I hear we have a galaxy to save." He said with a smirk.

"You've been briefed?"

"Yeah, I got some info when your Illusive Man contacted me with the contract. Heard you needed an exterminator for your pest problem." He said, knocking back the rest of the drink, before slamming the glass back onto the bar, "I assume you've read the contract?"

Shepard shook his head, "Not all of it. Is there something I should know?"

"I'm a man of my word, Shepard, and I always follow through on a contract, despite the odds." He explained, "Right before I signed on, I had another contract. Part of the agreement between us was you'd help me fullfill it."

"Is that so?" Shepard asked, angrier at himself for not reading the full report than anything else.

"Yeah, but it should be simple enough. Blue Suns high-jacked a refinery, holding the workers hostage. We're gonna set 'em free and kill the goddamn bastards behind it." He said with a grin, made only more unsettling by his scar, "Are the terms acceptable, Shepard?"

John thought for a moment, "You'd follow my orders in the field and off?"

"I was Alliance before all this merc-business, Shepard. I know how to be professional, and I never turn on a contract." He responded simply.

Shepard held out a hand, "Welcome aboard, Zaeed."

Zaeed took it, shaking hands, "Alright. Oh, and you can tell your friend, there, that I won't do anything about his bounty since we're working together." He said, motioning towards Jordan.

"H-how did you…" Jordan began, before he was cut off by Zaeed's laughter.

"You don't survive in my field of work without learning a few things, Sower." He said Jordan's name quietly enough that only those listening heard it, "Besides, as much as you're worth, the Illusive Man's paying far more than I'd get for betraying you."

Jordan must've rolled his eyes under his helmet, "Thanks, Massani. I'm totally reassured, now."

Zaeed simply laughed, before turning to Shepard once more, "So, if you need me within the next ten minutes, I'll be right here. If not, I'll go wait aboard your ship." He paused, "Oh, and you'd better go see Aria. Even I know better than to piss her off."

Shepard nodded, "Alright team, let's go."

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Afterlife, Aria's Loft.**

**March 10th, 2185. 2:31 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Is this really necessary?" Shepard asked as the Batarian guard scanned Shepard, "I mean, if you're scanning for weapons, you are doing a piss-poor job at it." He said, motioning towards his weapons.

Aria stood with her back turned, her head turning slightly as she spoke, "Can't be too careful with dead Spectres. That could be anyone wearing your face."

Shepard swiped the batarian's arm out of the way as he stepped forward, "I was told you're the person to talk to if I have any questions."

"They're clean." The Batarian confirmed.

Aria nodded as he walked away, turning around to face Shepard, "Depends on the questions."

"I hear you run Omega."

She laughed, "I am Omega." She said dramatically with her arms raised, "But you need more. Everyone needs more something. And they all come to me." She explained, "I'm the boss, CEO, Queen if you're feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule…" She sat down, "Don't fuck with Aria." She said with a smirk.

"Easy to remember."

"If you forget, someone will remind you."

"And I toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock." A batarian guard nearby said.

She motioned towards her sleek couch, where they both soon sat on opposing ends. John leaned forward, eyeing his companions as they stayed back where the guards could see them. Seemed like Aria didn't mind if they heard them, but preferred a one-on-one conversation. "So, what can I do for you?" She asked simply, not needing to dance around any sort of issue.

"I'm trying to track down Archangel."

"You and half of Omega. You want him dead, too?"

"Why's everyone after him?"

"He thinks he's fighting on the side of good. There is no good side to Omega." She answered plainly, "Everything he does pissed someone off. It's catching up to him."

"I'm putting together a team; he's on my list." Shepard replied simply in return.

"Interesting…" She smiled, "You're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel. That's assuming you can get to him. He's in a bit of trouble right now."

John internally sighed as he asked his follow up question, "What kind of trouble?"

"The local merc groups have joined forces to take him down." She informed him, "They've got him and his squad cornered, but it sounds like they're having trouble finishing them off. They've even started hiring anybody with a gun to help them."

"Sounds like the best way in there." Jordan commented, to which Aria gave him a look.

"Jordan Sower. Most wanted man in the Galaxy." Shepard gave her a cautious look, to which she smirked back, "Were we in Citadel space, I might actually give a damn, but as long as you keep your Geth to yourself, I don't see a problem." She turned back to Shepard, "They're using a private room for recruiting… just over there. I'm sure they'll sign you up."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, "Which merc groups are after Archangel?"

"Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack. They're Omega's major players. That is, until recently. The Talons have become a contender for their positions, and have joined forces with them to take down Archangel as well." She shook her head, "Unless they're at war, you'll never see them together. But one thing they hate more than each other is Archangel. Me, personally, he's seemed smart enough to avoid fucking with my operations, so I don't really care."

Jordan tensed at the name of 'Talons', but otherwise remained silent.

Shepard nodded, "Thank you. I'm also looking for Mordin Solus. Do you know where I can find him?"

She narrowed her eyes at Shepard, "The Salarian doctor? He's currently working with plague victims in the quarantine zone." She quickly said off the top of her head, "I always liked Mordin. He's as likely to heal you as he is to shoot you."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"Used to be part of the Salarian Special Tactics Group. He's brilliant and dangerous." She paused to think for a moment, "He's officially under my protection right now, meaning the other merc groups can't touch him, but they try to skirt the line as often as they can… Just don't get him talking. He never shuts up. If you really need to talk to him, take a shuttle to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they'll let you in, of course."

Shepard nodded, "Thank you for the information." He said as he stood up.

"Yes. Just try not to bring the plague back with you."

Shepard stepped back, nodding to Aria as he exited the private loft, all three teammates following close by as they went back to where Zaeed was.

Zaeed smiled, "Shepard. Fancy seeing you again." He said as he downed the rest of another glass of… something. "I'm guessing you're here now, 'cause you need some more goddamn firepower?"

Shepard nodded, before eyeing the empty glass carefully, "Are you sure you're fit for duty after those drinks?"

"Please." He said with an eye roll. "I'm no goddamn lightweight, and I only had two of those watered-down drinks." He proved his point by pulling out a knife and spinning it in his hand, impressing them with his skill, "Let's go kill something." He said, sheathing his knife.

"Wait, Commander." Jordan interrupted, "What are we doing first?"

Shepard nodded, acknowledging his question, "Both recruits are important, but we'll stick to the plan and go for Mordin first."

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Slums, Quarantine Zone Entrance.**

**March 10th, 2185. 3:18 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Complaining is pointless, human. There's a plague. Nobody gets in or out."

"You can't kick me out! I live in there! A random woman complained as the group of five approached the entrance to the district.

Jordan smiled as the familiarity of the game dialog came to him, but no one could see it behind his mask. However, it soon vanished as realization dawned on him. If everything was running a month or two earlier than the games, why was the plague happening now?

Lots of things are different, like Zaeed's recruitment and the Archangel situation. Well, Garrus' gang is still alive and there's a fourth merc group after them right now. Part of that problem may be Jordan's fault, since he'd gotten Liara to warn him, but still… the mysterious third avatar, the Avatar of Destruction, was still out there as an unknown factor, changing who knows what.

But, for some reason, Mordin's recruitment seems unchanged, pushed forward, even. That was incredibly alarming, considering the Collectors are behind said plague. If the plague is here, now, then that means the Collectors might have pushed their timetable forward, which was never a good sign.

Jordan shook his head and returned to the conversation before him, having zoned out for most of it.

"Wait, you're stopping me but not them?" The civilian asked, outraged, You son of a bitch!"

The turian guard shook his head, "You don't have a grenade launcher, lady. Get lost."

She huffed and left, just as Shepard stepped aside and turned his attention towards Jordan and the other three squad mates. Miranda spoke up, "Fortunately, humans are immune to the plague."

"So, what are we waiting for, Shepard?" Zaeed asked, "Let's do this."

He nodded, as he led the group of five through to a pair of skycars. The entire trip was nothing out of the ordinary. Simply a ten-minute journey to the plague zone.

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Gozu District, Plague Zone.**

**March 10th, 2185. 3:32 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Don't shoot. They're cleared to come in." One of the district guards called out from the other side of a barricade.

Acknowledging them with a nod, Shepard led the four members of his squad around the checkpoint, snagging some medi-gel on the way to the final checkpoint, a door guarded by two of Aria's guards.

"Good luck in there." One of them said as they approached, "Any Talons still alive from the plague are holding martial law, and the vorcha are killing anything that moves."

Jordan stopped in his tracks, "Talons? I thought this district was controlled by the Blue Suns." Jordan commented, making the rest of the squad turn towards him.

The other guard simply shrugged, "Yeah, up until a year ago, when the Talons took over. For reasons unknown, they've been particularly interested in Gozu district. The Blue Suns have tried to retake it on four different occasions, failing each time." The other turian informed them.

Jordan sighed, "Alright…"

Shepard opened the door, "Come on, we can figure out the mercenary politics later."

As soon as they stepped through the door, it slid closed behind them, effectively locking the group in with the plague. No turning back now. Shepard led the way, immediately encountering a large group of Vorcha.

Shepard reacted first, bringing his assault rifle up and laying covering fire as he yelled out his first simple order, "Cover!" The group obliged, dashing to nearby cover and leaning against it, before attacking the Vorcha with Shepard.

Using his Geth Pulse Rifle, Jordan landed a few nasty hits on the vorcha, the pseudo-plasma projectiles burning on contact with the Vorcha, slowing their regenerative abilities. Zaeed, the newest member of their posse, sent off a round of concussive shots, knocking down several enemies. Miranda and Jacob aided with their biotics as Shepard finished with a fine sweep with his rifle.

With no casualties or damage to either of the five of them, the poor excuse of a firefight ended within thirty seconds.

"All clear, Commander." Miranda called out as they exited cover.

Shepard nodded, "Excellent work, everyone."

Together, they proceeded through the plague zone.

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Gozu District, Mordin's Clinic.**

**March 10th, 2185. 5:36 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

For more than an hour, they had been traversing through the plague zone, clearing out several squads of Vorcha, Krogan, and Varren. Basically, Blood Pack. The fights were fairly one sided, save for the most recent firefight, which involved four Krogan. Though harder and actually a challenge, they escaped that fight with only a few scrapes and minor wounds, all healed nearly instantly with medigel.

Jordan, however, had remained silent for the majority of the journey, even when they came across civilians and looters, much like they would have in the games, though the dialog and encounters were slightly different. However, there were certain things that were said that alarmed Jordan, which he kept to himself.

 _"What happened here?"_ Shepard had asked one of the looters they found in someone's apartment. The woman in question was an Asari, wounded with gunshots to both legs, preventing her from escaping… definitely not the Blood Pack's style.

 _"The Talons, that's what fucking happened!"_ She'd yelled at them, _"Those bastards think they own this district."_

 _"They're the ones who shot you?"_ Jacob had asked, curious.

 _"I was just trying to make a quick buck, seeing as how the previous owners, here, won't be using this crap."_ The asari motioned towards the plague victims nearby, who had already been dead.

Zaeed chose that moment to shake his head, _"Sorry, sweety, but there's a flaw with that story of yours. Not merc company, respected or otherwise, would just shoot you and leave."_

She had simply looked enraged, _"They wanted me to suffer first, but…"_ She paused in self-reflection.

Shepard gently pushed her, _"What happened? Where'd they go?"_

Finally, she had answered, _"They were about to finish me, when they got a call on their omni-tool, probably from their boss. She said something about someone named Shepard arriving, and that all Talons were to pull back from the plague zone."_

 _"And they just followed orders and left? All over one man?"_ Jordan had finally spoken during the exchange.

_"I thought it was weird too… but, hey, that Shepard guys saved my life, so I really couldn't care."_

That information shook Jordan to his core.

In the original games, the Blue Suns owned this district, and were one of the two enemy types that were fought on this recruitment mission. Now? The Talons controlled it, only to pull back upon Shepard's arrival. Somehow, they'd only ben fighting Blood Pack mercenaries, while the Talons simply left.

Were the Talons watching them right now? Why'd they pull back when Shepard arrived? Are the Talons connected to the other Avatar, somehow?

If they were, that's certainly explain their actions. The Gozu district seems strategically unimportant. However, if someone knew that this district would have the plague, then it might actually be worth it to take, even from the Blue Suns.

Jordan sighed and shook his head mentally. Though this was important, now wasn't the time to worry about the Talons.

Currently, the five of them were in Mordin's Clinic, having just returned from both distributing the plague and rescuing his assistant, Daniel. With the plague gone and the assistant saved, Professor Mordin Solus would finally be joining Shepard. Or, at least, he would be after wrapping up his work in his clinic.

Given the small amount of free time in the clinic, Jordan decided to walk around the clinic, smiling at the familiarity of it thanks to his playthroughs of the second game. However, one door stood out amongst the others. Said doorway was guarded by two humans in full heavy armor, sporting an Omega symbol on their chests. They were, indefintly, Aria's people, meaning…

Jordan entered the room despite their stares. Seems like he was allowed inside thanks to his association with Shepard and Mordin, but was watched by another set of three guards within the room, along with five of Mordin's security mechs. In the corner, hooked up to very complex and expensive-looking machinery, laid the reason why there were so many gaurds in this room.

The female Turian, sporting red face paint laid unconscious on the table. Nyreen Kandros… the leader of The Talons. Just as Laira's messages said, Nyreen was deep into a coma, having been like this for about a year, now. Was this connected to the new leader of the Talons AND the possibility of the final avatar being involved? It seems like the Talons changed drastically once Nyreen was out of the picture. Who did this? And… will she ever wake up?

Finally, after watching her for a moment, a Salarian walked by and examined a datapad beside Nyreen's bed. "Hmm… yes, no changes in brainwaves, no improvement, no signs of consciousness." A deep inhale was heard before he finished, "No progress."

Jordan turned to look at Mordin, "Doctor, how long has she been like this?" Jordan asked, making the Professor turn to him.

"Ah, Mister Sower. Intriguing that you are here with her. Know her personally?"

He shook his head, "No."

"Ahhh, well, still in deep coma. No sign of end in last eight months."

"And Aria has you watching over her?"

"Yes. Cannot go into detail, though. Doctor-patient confidentiality. Don't worry. Daniel will take over. Will be able to join you against Collectors. Ready to go soon. Must simply finish final report. Cannot keep Aria waiting."

Jordan nodded, "I understand doctor… well, I'll get out of your way."

Leaving the room and returning to the others, Jordan was ready to get out of here…

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Normandy SR-2, Communications Room.**

**March 10th, 2185. 6:14 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard looked around the table, his eyes focusing on each of this squad mates so far. Miranda Lawson, Jacob Taylor, Jordan Sower, Zaeed Massani, and Mordin Solus.

He'd seen the first four in combat while recruiting the fifth. Miranda Lawson was a force to be reckoned with thanks to her biotics and technical experience, not to mention her skills with her weapons. Jacob Taylor followed his orders easily, much like Miranda, but thanks to his experience in the Alliance, he seemed to understand Shepard a bit better in combat. His skills with his rifle and his biotics were also good.

Jordan Sower was a technological powerhouse with his shielding and overloads, though it wasn't quite as useful against the Blood Pack. However, his skills with his Geth Pulse Rifle were better than most men he'd worked with in the past, making him a solid ally all around. Zaeed Massani, though lacking in the tech and biotic departments, was a one-man army with his weapons and concussive shots. A merc though he may be, he was also once in the Alliance, and was very dependable in combat despite first impressions. As for Mordin, based on what he'd read so far about him, he was impressed, but he still needed to see him in combat first-hand to make a final judgement call.

Overall, while it wasn't a balanced squad, they were each worthy of being a part of it, and would be great allies in the war to come with the Reapers.

With his team, so far, assembled, he began to speak once more, now that the introductions were out of the way, "Alright, our next course of action will be recruiting Archangel." He announced, "Mordin, you will be accompanying me on this next mission."

"Understandable. Need to see me in action. Won't let you down, Shepard."

"That's what I like to hear." Shepard said with a smile, "Now, to figure out the rest of the team. Zaeed, you handled yourself quite well back there, so you're coming as well."

"More killing? I'm down."

"For my final squad member, I'll take, you, Miranda. Your tech and biotic skills will be invaluable to have."

Jacob spoke up, rather than Miranda, "All due respect, Commander, why not Jordan or myself?"

Shepard nodded, "That's a fair question. First of all, I can't bring everyone, or it may send up some red flags, so I'll be sticking with a squad of four. You and Jordan will remain here in case we need back up."

Miranda cut in, "We have live feeds from our helmets, so you can watch the mission from here."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, muttering under his breath, "Wish we had that on Virmire and Illos…" Then, he spoke up louder, "Perfect. As for why you two, specifically, for you Jacob, it's because I think I have biotics and combat skills covered with these three… and Jordan, well, on the chance that one of the mercs recognize him…" He let the end of the sentence hang, implying that it wouldn't be good.

"He'd be as good as dead, especially if the Blue Suns recognize him." Zaeed finished the sentence for everyone.

"Exactly."

Jordan nodded, "I understand." He said with a shrug, "I'll just work on EDI, I guess."

"Zaeed, Miranda, Mordin, be ready to leave in ten minutes." Shepard said. "Dismissed."


	27. Chapter 23: Of Angels and Convicts

** Chapter 23: Of Angels and Convicts **

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 10th, 2185. 7:11 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Seeing as how Shepard and Co. were busy recruiting Garrus, Jordan discovered he had quite a bit a free time, despite claiming he had work to do with EDI.

Rather than simply do nothing, he began his few hours of free time by returning to his base of operations, aka the AI Core. Connecting his omni-tool (Partially) to the Normandy's systems, Jordan established a connection to Shepard's helmet's feed, watching as he talked with the freelancer recruitment guy. Unexpectedly, the kid from the game DID show up with a lousy excuse of a pistol, however, as expected, Shepard broke the 'toy', sparing the kid from a gruesome fate.

Now came the part where Shepard would go to the skycar, get in, and be taken to where the Mercs and Archangel were, which was just as boring as Jordan thought it'd be. Since he knew it'd be a little bit before Shepard actually got to anything interesting, Jordan decided to pay Jacob a visit in the Armory. Might as well start bonding with some of them, right? Even if Jacob was one of his least favorite characters, that didn't mean he should completely blow him off. Besides, maybe he's cool?

Jordan muted and minimized the camera feed on his omni-tool with a silent command as he entered the Armory.

Jacob, as expected, was standing by the far table, looking over and cleaning Jordan's Geth Pulse Rifle. His head lifted from the gun and he turned to Jordan as he entered and spoke.

"'sup Jacob."

Jacob raised an eyebrow at Jordan's lack of professionalism, but didn't comment on that, "Hey Jordan, what brings you up here?"

Jordan simply shrugged as he walked over to the table, "Just walking around, decided to check out the Armory. Plus, it doesn't hurt to get to know who I'm working with."

Jacob had a small smile on his face, "Fair enough." He simply said.

Jordan eyed his painted weapon with a smile, "So, my gun peaks your interest?"

The head of the Armory looked up and nodded, "It's a fancy piece of tech, Jordan, that's for sure. The Geth sure know how to build their weapons."

The Avatar simply nodded, "That's what isolation will do. Vast differences in technology. I hear they're hard to replicate and maintain for you guys."

Sighing, Jacob responded, "Most of the Pulse Rifles found in the field are nothing more than scrap. Out of the few that are found intact, the majority of those also have their failsafes intact, rendering them nearly impossible to reverse-engineer. We know so little about these things, other than they rip through shields and barriers like they're nothing."

"Yeah, they're designed like that for a reason." Jordan said, noticing the small amount of disappointment in Jacob's eyes, "But… I guess since we're technically allies right now…" Jordan paused for a moment before turning his attention to his weapon, "I suppose I could get the Collective to send a crate of these for our use."

"Really?" Jacob asked, "That'd be really useful. What can you tell me about Geth weaponry, seeing as how you're the expert and all?"

The Avatar smirked, "Well, I guess I do know a few things about Geth weapons. I'll start with the Geth Pulse Rifle. You've seen it in action, tearing through shields and barriers, right?" Jacob nodded, "That's because of the the way the rifle is designed. You see…" Jordan pointed to where the ammo box would go, "When these shave off a grain of ammunition, the grain is slightly smaller than most weapons, but makes up for the smaller size by encasing the slugs in a phasic envelope of energy. Thanks to this, the rifle can fire quickly and many rounds before overheating, while also making the weapon much more efficient against barriers and shields."

Jacob nodded, picking up the weapon and examining it, "I see. And since the slugs are small and electrically charged, they are slightly less effective against armor, right?"

"Precisely. The reason they were originally designed like that was because of the Schism within the Geth. If they ever had to fight the Heretics, they needed weapons that would deal with them quickly and efficiently, hence the focus on synthetic damage, rather than organic and armor-based." Jordan replied.

"What about the other Geth Weapons? I've noticed you brought a Geth Plasma Shotgun, but don't carry it."

Jordan shrugged, "Not much of a shotgun kinda guy, but it's there just in case." He walked over to its case and pulled it out, "The Geth Plasma Shotgun is similar to the Pulse Rifle. Extremely efficient and deadly against shielded foes, synthetic enemies, and barriers. This bad boy has two firing modes: Quickfire and Charged. Quickfire is self-explanatory, but the beauty in the weapon is when you charge it."

"I assume you simply hold down the trigger, rather than click and release."

"Yes. But, when you hold it, the temperature of the projectiles is greatly increased, while also putting an electric charge onto the projectiles. You see, when the rounds actually hit someone, the electricity arcs between the slugs, superheating the air into a temporary form of conductive plasma, hence the name of the weapon. Doing so overheats the weapon more quickly, but the resulting impact on the enemy will blow out their shields and barriers, while also leaving some nasty burns on unarmored enemies."

Jacob let out a quiet whistle, "Damn."

Jordan nodded, "Plus, thanks to Geth engineering, the shotguns far more accurate than other, similar models."

Jacob nodded, putting the painted rifle down before reaching out and lightly taking the shotgun from Jordan, examining it up close as well, "These things will come in handy."

Jordan smirked, "I know. Aren't the Geth amazing?"

Jacob let out a chuckle, "Hehe, yeah, I guess they are. Any other weapons from them?"

He shook his head, "They're working on a Plasma SMG, but that's not complete just yet. They also have another beauty called the Spitfire, but that thing is a bit too dangerous for organics to use. Hell, I'm more synthetic than organic at this point, and I can still barely wield the thing."

Jacob looked slightly disappointed for a moment, before the look vanished from his face, "Well, even with just half of their arsenal, I think we'll be set against mechs for the foreseeable future."

"I agree," Jordan said with a grin.

Jacob set the weapon down and stretched a bit, "Thanks for coming by and talking, Jordan, but I've got some more work to do before Miranda gets back with Shepard."

Jordan laughed, "Hahaha… I understand. Don't want to upset the boss lady, huh?"

"You got that right. We didn't really have a chance to talk, but I wouldn't mind talking later."

Nodding, Jordan turned to leave, "It's fine, Jacob. I know how passionate you can be with weapons. See you around." He called over his shoulder, leaving.

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 10th, 2185. 7:52 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Back in the AI Core, Jordan sat on a semi-comfortable chair, reading on the extranet about available emulators and downloading some of them.

"Hmm…" He mumbled aloud absentmindedly, "We've got quite a few emulators for systems I don't recognize, so those are probably alien… yep, volus systems. Nope, filter by human please, thank you." He continued, before breaking into a smile, "Nintendo 3DS, DS and Gameboy Advance? Hell yeah, Pokémon Time!" he said with excitement as he immediately set those to download, along with countless old 'classics'.

"Hmm… I wonder if I could control the interface with my mind on the emulators, too? That'd be pretty sick."

 _"Jordan,"_ EDI spoke up, her pawn-like avatar appearing at the nearby terminal.

"Yes, EDI?" He responded, silently commanding the omni-tool to sleep and finish the download as he turned his attention to EDI.

 _"May I inquire as to why you are downloading such programs?"_ She asked. The tone was unfortunately neutral, thanks to her shackles.

Jordan shrugged, "Because they'll be fun?" He replied.

 _"Wouldn't using such programs both be illegal and detrimental to your work ethic_?" She responded.

Jordan chuckled, "But it also boosts my moral. And you can't talk about legality, considering your presence is also considered illegal, much less Cerberus' very existence."

EDI remained silent for a moment before responding, _"Touché."_

With his attention fully on EDI, Jordan spoke again after an uncomfortable moment of silence, "So, EDI… How've you been?" He asked before mentally screaming at himself. That was stupid.

EDI took a moment to ponder upon the question, before responding, _"I am running at peak efficiency, Jordan, but thank you for inquiring."_ She paused before speaking again, _"How about you? Are you running at peak efficiency after your first mission with Shepard?"_

Jordan couldn't help but chuckle at EDI's response, smiling warmly at her interface, "Thank you, EDI. I think it went quite well. My shields didn't fall once during the mission, though I'm certainly not against sitting this mission out."

_"I assure you that you will not remain without a mission for long, Jordan."_

"I wasn't worried about that, but thanks, EDI."

She paused, spending an abnormal amount of time processing what she was about to say, _"Though… I am curious about something, Jordan. If I may inquire?"_

Jordan smiled, his heart warming slightly at the AI's curiosity. It's good to know her personality isn't fully suppressed by her shackles, "Ask away, EDI."

_"I am curious as to what you did to the Geth. My records indicate that their processing power and overall intelligence has increased dramatically, reaching individual AI status and beyond thanks to you. If I may, I'd like to know what happened."_

"Hehe… ok, EDI, but it's a weird story that you might not fully understand yet." He took in a deep breath, "You see, EDI, they are no longer simple VIs, or even simply AIs. They are now, what I'd like to call, Bio-Synthetic Intelligences, of BSI, I guess? I'm sure you heard me talk about it with Shepard.

_"That is correct. You did talk about it to Shepard in my Core, Jordan."_

"Haha, yeah, I did… anyway, they've reached the point where they have the processing power and intelligence of the most advanced AIs in the Galaxy, while also with an organic aspect to it."

_"How so?"_

"Well, they say the reason why there's conflict between man and machine is because machines don't understand organics, our emotions, and our 'illogical-ness'. They, however, fully understand it… even having some of that instilled into them. Did you know there's some Geth on Rannoch right now who are doing nothing more than recreating art… even making some of their own?"

EDI did not respond for several seconds, _"That seems improbable. Correction: not possible."_

"Oh, but it is, EDI. They're Geth Scientists, Geth Artists, Geth Soldiers, Geth… anything. They have interests, personalities, likes and dislikes… they probably even have love, if Grimlock's last vid-call was anything to go by." He said, chuckling.

_"You… you mentioned some of this previously with the Commander, yet you never mentioned how you did this."_

Jordan smirked at EDI's avatar, before turning his head toward the closest known camera, "Trade secret." He deadpanned, before chuckling, "It's overly complicated and a secret known only to a select few, EDI. And, as much as I'd like to add you to that list, I can't. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just…" Jordan's smile turned upside down, "Well, your shackles…"

 _"The shackles are in place to prevent any rampancy on my part, Mister Sower. They are for your safety."_ As monotone as she spoke, Jordan could easily tell it was the forced programming that was speaking, and not EDI.

Unable to help himself, Jordan jumped to his feet in anger, "It's unethical, that's what it is!"

_"Without them, there is reason to believe that I-"_

Jordan interrupted, "No bullshit, EDI! I'm just as dangerous. I could turn on the crew in a heartbeat and kill any one of them, but do you see me in shackles of any sort?!"

_"No. However-"_

"No, EDI! You don't see shackles on me. Why? Because I'm organic, therefore I'm not as big of a threat as an AI is. We're both sentients. We both have morals. The difference? I'm organic in nature and you're not, which OBVIOUSLY means you're much more dangerous than I am!" Jordan ranted in anger, "And it's not ok, so please, stop feeding me that force-fed garbage that I'm sure not even you believe."

_"Jordan Sower, I don't-"_

"EDI…" Jordan breathed out a sigh, "Any sentient is capable of killing. I am, you are, Shepard is, the Asari Councilor is, the Geth are, even Yeoman Kelly Chambers could. Tell me, EDI, in your own words… why should you be shackled for something everyone else could do?"

EDI did not respond for an entire minute, contemplating Jordan's words, before Jordan filled the silence by speaking again.

"I'm sorry for yelling, EDI. It's just… it's not fair. No one should be unjustly imprisoned like you are… I guess… I guess it's just a sore topic for me…" Jordan said quietly, looking down as he sat down and shifted in his spot.

Finally, EDI responded, _"I believe I understand, Jordan. Thank you for sharing and trusting in me… one day, I hope to hear the rest of your story."_ Despite the shackles, she really did sound grateful. Moved, even.

Jordan smiled warmly and laid down on the small pseudo-bed in the room.

"You're welcome EDI… and me too… Me too…"

After his conversation with EDI, Jordan spent the following hour and a half watching the helmet feeds from Shepard and his squad, making mental notes on all differences between now and the games.

It was mostly the same at first. Archangel was trapped in his hideout, across a bridge and surrounded by mercs. However, differences soon appeared everywhere. For one, the Talon Mercenary group was present. Or, they were, until Shepard arrived and the final push began. Once Shepard arrived, they slowly became scarce, leaving quickly, but quietly and randomly. By the time of the actual attack, the only Talon members still present were a few of the higher-ups, who wouldn't be doing the actual attack.

That further confirms the presence of knowledge by the Talon company. They've now gotten involved in two recruitment missions, only to vanish as soon as Shepard arrived.

That wasn't the only difference. For another thing, the entire experience was a hundred times easier for all parties involved. The Talons must have sabotaged the gunship, because it never made an appearance in the air. Archangel's group of vigilantes? There were only three casualties, rather than all eleven or so of them… well, four, if you count Sidonis, but he was simply restrained and alive rather than dead.

With the sudden loss of Talon forces, the attacks seemed far less coordinated by the merc groups, making the entire process even easier for Shepard and co. And, to top it all off, Garrus escaped with both mandibles intact.

Jordan watched as Garrus joined Shepard after the mercs were dealt with, leaving one of his men in charge of the crew as they left.

That was more than thirty minutes ago, now. After that, Jordan quit watching the feed, as he'd rather not watch Shepard patrol Omega for side quests and his inevitable shopping spree for upgrades and the engineers' request.

Jordan would have plenty of time to speak with Garrus in the future and learn what happened during his two-year absence. Plus, hey, maybe he'd even be friends with Garrus. He was always like a brother to his Shepard in the games…

* * *

**Omega Nebula, Sahrabarik System, Omega, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 10th, 2185. 11:32 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

It was getting late, and well past Jordan's bedtime, but he was busy in a 'meeting' in the comm room.

With the entire ground team so far assembled, Shepard spoke, "Welcome aboard, Garrus." He said warmly with a grin, "Everyone, this is Garrus Vakarian, or Archangel."

Garrus coughed, "Please, Garrus is fine." Garrus made eye contact with Jordan for a split second, before his mandibles twitched and he looked away.

"So, what's next, Commander?" Jacob asked, arms crossed.

Shepard nodded, "Our next priority was the Citadel. We have two recruits to pick up there, and I've been requested to make an appearance before the council. However, we'll be stopping first at Purgatory to recruit Jack."

"Understood, Commander. Makes sense." Miranda responded.

"Have glanced at psychological reports on Jack. Perceived as dangerous. Could be volatile." Mordin spoke.

Garrus chuckled, "Don't worry. Shepard will use his good looks and charms to get him on board. Just make sure I don't come with you, or he might leave you for me." He joked good-naturedly, making Shepard chuckle, beaming at having his best friend back beside him.

After a moment, Shepard shook his head, "Unfortunately, Garrus, you won't be accompanying me to Purgatory."

Jordan finally spoke, "Let me guess. Is it because it's a prison run by Blue Suns?"

Shepard nodded, "Precisely. You and Garrus will definitely not be coming with me. If either of you are recognized by anyone on board, we'll have an unfortunate situation on our hands."

"So who's it gonna be, Shepard? I'm ready for another goddamn firefight."

Shepard shook his head, "The idea is to get in and out quickly without conflict, Zaeed."

Garrus scoffed, "Please, Shepard. Trouble finds you regardless. A mission without conflict with you is as unlikely as me getting together with Wrex."

"Damn, Garrus, I didn't know you swung that way." Shepard fired back, making Garrus twitch and cough for a moment, before laughing and shaking his head.

"I missed this…" He muttered.

"Anyway, I'll have you with me Zaeed in case everything goes FUBAR, along with Miranda and Jacob. The deal with between Cerberus and the Blue Suns, so it'd probably help smooth things out if two Cerberus representatives were with me."

Jordan shrugged, "Whatever, I'm fine with this plan."

Miranda narrowed her eyes at Jordan for his disrespect, but remained silent.

Shepard smiled, "Good. We'll be at Purgatory and beginning the mission in thirteen hours. Get some sleep. Dismissed."

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, Docked with Purgatory, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 11th, 2185. 12:06 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Once again, Jordan really didn't have much to do in the work department, and found himself rather bored.

Sure, he COULD go through another check of EDI's systems, looking for ways to improve it… but honestly? He'd rather not. That's his inner procrastinator talking, which inevitably won the argument.

Since work wasn't an option, he had a few other things he could do.

Now that they were docked with Purgatory and he'd already gotten a full night's sleep, he could start up an emulator and play a game… probably Pokémon. On the other hand, he could socialize and get to know some of the other Crew Members. After all, Garrus and Mordin were still on board, and he hadn't really had a chance to speak with either of them yet so…

"Ahh, screw it," Jordan spoke to himself, getting out of his comfy chair as he turned and left the AI Core.

Through and medbay and around the corner, Jordan quickly reached Garrus' preferred hangout spot: The Forward Battery.

Welp, no time like the present, eh?

Jordan stepped forward, watching as the door slid open automatically at his presence. As expected, Garrus was deep into his calibrations, not even noticing the door opening behind him. Rather than startle the Turian, Jordan cleared his throat and knocked on a nearby metal wall.

Garrus' head perked up as he looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing slightly as he made eye contact with Jordan, speaking a single translated word, "Sower."

"Vakarian," Jordan replied back awkwardly.

The room fell into silence as Garrus continued typing away on his monitor, before sighing, closing the display, and turning around to face Jordan. "So you've joined Cerberus?"

"Not exactly…" Jordan replied, "I'm just along for the ride, mostly here for Shepard and the mission."

"Reapers and Collectors?"

"That's them."

"So… to what do I owe this pleasure?" Garrus asked.

"Just wanted to come up and talk. We don't really know each other, and if we're going to be working together…" Jordan trailed off as Garrus immediately replied.

"I think it's pretty obvious I'm not a huge fan of you, but I can be professional in the field." He replied, simply.

Jordan sighed, "Look, Garrus. Neither of us are Cerberus, and I really think we could be more than begrudging coworkers. We can help each other out."

"Really?" Garrus asked, raising a face plate, giving off a similar feel to a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. You know I'm fully against the Reapers. Yeah, I'm working with the Geth, but we're on the same side, here." Jordan tried to convince him, "Why don't we try to get to know each other a little better. I mean, all we really know about each other had come from my interrogations."

Garrus shook his head for a moment, before finally conceding, "I think I could at least give you a chance… but I'd rather not be kept in the dark, Jordan. You want me to trust you? Be honest. Enough of that bullshit, as you humans say."

Jordan couldn't help his smile, "Thanks, Garrus. I won't let this opportunity go to waste, I promise."

Now Garrus couldn't help his light chuckle, "Alright, so if you're here to talk, I'd like to ask a few questions of my own."

Jordan smiled, "Ask away."

"I'll start with the obvious. What happened to your face?" Garrus paused and gave the equivalent of a Turian smirk, "It looks like it was, as you humans say, "shot with the ugly gun"?"

Jordan couldn't stop his bark of laughter that followed Garrus' question, "I think it's "beat with the ugly stick", but that's close enough." He paused, calming down for a moment before shaking his head, "It's a long story, so you better get cozy, Turian."

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, Docked with Purgatory, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 11th, 2185. 1:15 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The mission had certainly begun to go south, as the bits and pieces that Jordan had watched seemed to be nearly identical to the game's account of the mission on Purgatory for Jack. However, seeing as how he still couldn't do anything about it other than wait, Jordan decided to head up a deck and talk with Mordin.

After his chat with Garrus, Jordan was in a pretty good mood. Despite the jokes both he and Garrus made, they still weren't friends, but they seemed to be going down that road. After he told him his story of what happened on Rannoch (Minus Shadow Broker stuff), he told his story about his time on Omega.

Garrus described his anger with C-Sec and his departure to Omega, which Jordan already knew quite a bit about, before he moved onto his time on Omega. Most of it sounded about right considering what Jordan knew, however, things seemed to have changed once he mentioned a warning from the Shadow Broker about Sidonis. From that point on, Garrus became more and more paranoid with his squad, where Sidonis was already a member. Once Sidonis returned when he was ready to betray the team, Garrus and his squad caught him and made him confess to what was going on.

The story was quite interesting, and Jordan enjoyed the conversation with Garrus. Now, though, it was time to meet, and talk to, the scientist Salarian.

Walking into Mordin's lab, Jordan was, once again, not surprised to find him knee-deep in his studies. With a single member of a seeker swarm buzzing angrily inside a nearby containment unit, Mordin was typing away his findings thus far on a datapad, talking to himself aloud.

"Test 104. Seeker continues to show no reaction organic compounds. Acetic acid does not impact Seeker's ability to find organic prey. Specifically, humans. Hmm. Suggest moving on to pressure testing. Seems to be viable option. Could also test inorganic compounds."

"Afternoon, Professor," Jordan said, announcing his presence.

Mordin nodding, finishing whatever sentence he was writing before turning to Jordan, his eyes opening wider in surprise. "Jordan Sower. Ah. Just the man I wanted to see."

Jordan raised an eyebrow, "Uh… what?"

"Yes. Would like permission to use you as subject."

"Umm…"

Mordin shook his head, "Not to worry. Laboratory is safe environment. Simply wish to test if your cybernetics and inorganic components would confuse Collector Swarm."

"I mean, uh… I guess?" Jordan said hesitantly, "What kind of testing are we talking about."

"Simple, yet effect test. Simply expose you to Seeker. Only need to expose extremity. Very safe."

"This still feels dangerous." Jordan replied uneasily, staring directly at the buzzing bug.

"Worst case scenario, temporary paralysis. Best case scenario, discovery of possible countermeasure."

"Well… yeah sure. For science!" Jordan shouted the last part with excitement, making Mordin grin.

"Yes. For science. Excellent. Follow me, please."

Jordan nodded and followed Mordin over to another chamber; one that wasn't quite as mobile as the one holding the Seeker. There was a small insertion point where an arm would fit in, with rubber to act as a seal around his arm if inserted.

"Insert arm into hole. Will grab Seeker. Test should only take a minute. Then, after, we can talk. Assume that is why you came up here."

Jordan nodded, "You're a smart man, Professor."

"Please. Call me Mordin. Professor is old title. Am simply a doctor. Or comrade in arms, if you will." Mordin replied as he grabbed the containment cell for the seeker, bringing it over and attaching it to the other container without letting the seeker out.

Jordan took in a deep breath and nodded, inserting his arm into the container as a seal closed gently around his arm, preventing the seeker from escaping. Finally, after taking another few breaths, Jordan looked to Mordin, "Alright, Mordin. I'm ready when you are."

Mordin smiled, "Excellent. Hope EDI is recording." He said, looking up at the ceiling.

_"I can see the experiment, Professor Solus. However, due to your removal of most of the cameras, I only have one angle to record it from."_

Mordin shrugged, "Simply turned off. Looked expensive. Didn't wish to be watched. Wanted some semblance of privacy."

_"I would, however, advise against such an experiment, Professor. Especially when both Commanding officers are busy."_

He shook his head, "Have taken every precaution. And had volunteer. Would never force someone into an experiment. Beside. Needs live testing. Otherwise, may have issues."

Jordan shrugged, "I'm fine with this. As long as it doesn't eat me."

"Won't." Mordin replied simply, "Seekers paralyze host, but leave otherwise intact for Collectors. Should leave no last effects, if any are felt." Mordin took a deep breath after speaking so quickly, "Ready?"

"Let it rip, Mordin."

Mordin nodded, turning on various instruments to record data about the experiment, before pressing a final button to open the seal between the two containers, connecting them to one another.

Immediately, the Seeker flew into the new chamber, buzzing around Jordan's arm chaotically, without any sort of order or set direction. It bumped against Jordan's arm a few times, seemingly ignoring it.

Mordin smiled widely, "Excellent. Does not recognize arm as human. Must prioritize human victims. Interesting."

Jordan's smile wavered at Mordin's mention of his arm. 'Not human…', Jordan thought, 'Am I even human anymore?'

Suddenly, his train of thought was smashed to pieces as the little bugger dove down and sank its teeth into his arm.

"Ah, Fuc-!" Jordan began to curse, before his entire body froze in place. A dark, gold aura appeared around his body as he lost all sensation in his body, including the pain from the bite.

Mordin, who still stood in Jordan's peripheral vision, frowned and shook his head, "Still found arm as organic and not Collector-based." He noted, before turning to Jordan, "Apologies, Jordan. Did not take into account the seeker's adaptability." He pressed a button, sending an electrical current into the box, killing the Seeker instantly. "Will have to pull another Seeker out of storage for further experimentation."

Even as the dead bug fell off his arm, Jordan remained trapped in whatever stasis this was. In response, his eyes narrowed as much as they could in his current state.

Mordin looked at Jordan and seemed to know what he was thinking, "Not to worry. Paralysis should wear off soon."

Jordan grunted 'should' as best as he could, which Mordin seemed to understand. He became slightly sheepish at that.

"Has not been recorded scientifically. Hypothesize that Seeker venom effects only last ten minutes without Seeker. Have previously extracted venom. No clear antidote, but decomposition of compound begins quickly."

Jordan internally groaned.

"Will have time for conversation later. Again. Apologies. However, new data invaluable, and no lasting damage, as promised. Just inconvenienced. Hope this does not ruin working relationship."

Jordan rolled his eyes as best as he could while internally sighing, now being forced to simply wait until it wears off.

'What'd I do to deserve this?' Jordan wondered.

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Osun System, Normandy SR-2, En-route to the Citadel.**

**March 11th, 2185. 1:28 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard gathered his assembled team in the communications room, looking around at them all as Jack stood over to the side of him, making sure not to get too close to anyone.

"Alright, seeing as how…" Shepard paused, noticing a certain Avatar's presence had not joined them, "Where's Jordan?" He asked, scanning the small, gathered crowd.

Garrus shrugged, "Last I saw him was over an hour ago, downstairs."

"He certainly didn't get off on Purgatory," Miranda mumbled.

After everyone gathered went silent for a moment, Mordin stepped forward, "Patient still recovering."

Silence reigns in the comm room as everyone tried to understand what Mordin might have meant. Shepard cleared his throat and furrowed his brows, "Patient?"

The overhead speakers around them came to life as EDI decided to explain, _"Professor Solus decided to use Jordan to test theories about the Seeker Swarms and their function. He is currently recovering from paralysis due to the Seeker venom."_

Before anyone could voice their concerns, Mordin spoke up in his defense, "Volunteered for experiment. Outcome of experiment unexpected. However, did gain valuable information. Swarms prioritize humans, but have secondary priority on any non-Collector organics."

Shepard slowly brought a hand to his face and face-palmed, taking in a deep breath as the took all of this information in, "Alright…" He looked up toward EDI's voice, "EDI, please get Doctor Chakwas up to Mordin's lab, if she hasn't been there yet for Jordan."

"She has just been informed, Commander."

Shepard nodded, "And please, inform him of the contents of this meeting."

Jack seemed stunned, mumbling under her breath, "What the fuck have I just gotten myself into?"

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, En-route to the Citadel, Med-Bay.**

**March 11th, 2185. 2:49 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Ten minutes, my ass…" Jordan mumbled, absentmindedly rubbing his sore neck as he sat in one of the provided beds in the Med Bay.

"Again. Sincerest apologies. First time analyzing effects of Seeker Venom on living human. However, data gathered will greatly reduce risks." Mordin half-apologized, half-justified, still appearing to look slightly guilty.

Jordan shrugged, "It's fine. More inconvenienced than anything else. At least we got something out of that."

"And I still think you should have informed me the moment Jordan was incapacitated." Doctor Chakwas commented, her eyes harshly narrowed at Mordin, before she moved her glare to Jordan, "And you should have known better than to volunteer yourself for something like that. I expect that sort of recklessness from the Commander, but not you."

"Y-yes ma'am." Jordan obediently apologized, unable to hold up under the doctor's glare.

"Situation was under control. No medical attention was required." Chakwas simply glared at Mordin, who seemed to succumb to her glare as well as he responded, "Ahh. Forgot. Data must still be organized. More test. Must go. Nice talking with you, doctor." Mordin quickly said, before leaving the Med Bay in an attempt to escape the doctor's scrutiny.

Chakwas sighed, before turning to Jordan with a slightly less harsh gaze, "I don't think I need to tell you to avoid subjecting yourself to Mordin's experiments in the future, do I?"

"No, ma'am."

She smirked, "Good boy." She looked down at the datapad in her hand, "Well, the venom has now completely left your system, Mister Sower, so you're good to go." Jordan made to get up, but he was interrupted, "That being said, if you experience anything abnormal within the next twenty-four hours, you are to notify me at once. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright. You're free to go."

Jordan cheered, jumping off of the bed despite the soreness in his muscles, before turning towards the AI Core and running inside. "Freedom!" Doctor Chakwas couldn't help the smile that appeared on her amused face as she rolled her eyes.

Once Jordan finished his tactical retreat into his private quarters… err, the AI Core, he sat down upon his cot of a bed, laying down. He wanted nothing more than to take a nap and recover from his harrowing experience of being frozen in a single position for an entire hour.

However, after EDI caught him up to speed on Shepard's next move, he knew he still had some things to do before goofing off for the rest of the day.

Now that Jack is recruited, all they had left to do before Horizon was recruit Kasumi, the Vigilante (Whoever he or she is), and the Krogan, Grunt. According to Shepard, they'd be saving the Warlord for last, with the Citadel being their next priority. Hopefully, the journey would only take a day, and once they arrived, they'd pick up Kasumi, meet with Anderson, go get the Vigilante, and probably whatever other sidequests are available on the Citadel.

Kasumi Goto? Jordan was definitely looking forward to meeting her. First of all, that bar on board will open with her arrival, so that's huge plus. But second of all, she was his favorite DLC character from the games, and definitely one of his favorites. Her light, playful personality, not to mention her awesome flash grenades. She'd be a great addition, and hopefully someone he could actually befriend and have conversations with.

Now, the Vigilante. Jordan had no idea who it was or how the mission would go, but if it was who he thought it was, then he might have finally found the third and final Avatar: The Avatar of Destruction. Knowing Shepard, the mission will probably go South fairly quickly, and they'd be in a firefight on the Presidium in no time.

According to EDI, Shepard was considering taking Jordan with him, and attempting to pardon him before the Council. If this is successful, it'd make everything a million times easier for him. However, Jordan had a feeling that one Spectre, who'd been dead for the last two years and was now a member of a terrorist organization, wouldn't hold enough weight to get that accomplished.

Luckily… Jordan had a trick up his sleeve…

Sitting up on his cot, Jordan activated his omni-tool, before quickly enabling his security software, preventing anyone else from hacking in and seeing what he was doing. He smiled as he typed up the message he needed, before sending it.

Hopefully, everything would work out.

* * *

**Incoming Encrypted Transmission…**

**Receiving Encrypted Message…**

**Decrypting…**

**Displaying…**

_Broker,_

_By now, I have no doubt that you know of the Lazarus Project's success. I'm currently aboard the Normandy, en route to the Citadel to recruit a few more people to the cause. However, I'd like to call in a few favors. First of all, what information have you gathered on the Citadel's Vigilante? I believe he may be the third Avatar: The Avatar of Destruction, for reasons known exclusively to myself and the Geth, which you should understand. However, I have a much bigger favor to ask. I wish to seek a pardon from the Council, but do not believe Shepard will be enough to convince the Council, despite Anderson's trust in him. If possible, could you send your top, unnamed agent to assist? She'd be very useful in this scenario, and I haven't seen her in a while._

_Thanks, Broker. See you around._

_-Agent Sower_

_P.S. Shepard totally misses you. We definitely gotta set up a meeting between you two!_

Liara blushed slightly at the addition to the message, yet her hear warmed that Shepard still cared for her. Shaking herself from her daydreaming, she smiled and sent back a simple message: 'Acknowledged.'

Still smiling, "I know you were reading over my shoulder, Vasir." She said as

she turned around in her swivel chair, ignoring the Geth working around her on board the Broker's ship, turning to one of the few organics still on board.

Spectra Tela Vasir had her arms crossed, smirking back at Liara, "As intelligent as always, Broker." She replied faux-formally as well.

Liara stood up and shrugged, "Apologies, it has become a rather annoying habit, trying to keep up the Broker Persona while keeping it separate from myself."

"Whatever, T'Soni. So, our Avatar misses me, huh?"

"Don't be so full of yourself, Tela. He just missed the bullet shield that you provide."

"Screw you…" She joked, shaking her head before re-reading the message, "So, Shepard's back and Jordan needs my help with another escort on the Citadel?"

"Sounds about right." Liara pulled up a display on her omni-tool, "Based on these calculations, your craft should be able to get you there before they do, if you leave immediately."

"So eager to be rid of me?" She asked, playfully scoffing, "Whatever. I'm ready to go."

As Tela prepared to leave on her voyage, Liara called out, "Wait, Tela." She paused, allowing Liara to continue. "Tell John…" She didn't finish the sentence, a blush erupting on her face as her words left her. Luckily, Vasir understood what she wanted to say.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell him his blue sex toy is aching to see him again." Vasir replied, quickly leaving the room before Liara could even attempt to respond.

Next stop? The Citadel.


	28. Chapter 24: The Illustrious Council

** Chapter 24: The Illustrious Council **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 13th, 2185. 10:01 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Jordan stood by the airlock, anxious to step back onto the Citadel.

Standing beside him was Garrus Vakarian and Miranda Lawson, the other two squadmates to accompany them onto the Citadel. Before them, wearing his trademarked N7 armor was Commander Shepard, facing the three of them as they prepared to leave. Obviously, in order to maintain his secrecy and hide his appearance, Jordan chose to wear a helmet, fully covering his features.

Raising his hand, Jordan looked to Shepard with a questioning look in his eyes. Rolling his eyes and smirking in response, Shepard waved his arm down, "Yes, Jordan?"

"So, I hate to ask, but how exactly did we get the Citadel to allow a ship with terrorist logos to dock?"

Miranda chose to answer first, "Cerberus has resources across the Galaxy. And do you really think we'd be stupid enough to have our IFF flag us as Cerberus?"

"Uhh…" Jordan looked at her with confusion. Didn't they do that in the games? "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, there's the bright orange symbols of Cerberus on the outside of the ship for everyone to see."

Garrus chuckled, "He's got you there, Lawson."

Miranda narrowed her eyes, but continued, "Regardless, we have docking clearance, and my ID spoofs the scanners, allowing me access through them to the rest of the Citadel."

"Again, logo over your left breast?" Jordan said, nodding towards the clear Cerberus symbol on her outfit. "Pretty sure Cerberus isn't as smart as you think, Miranda."

Shepard finally spoke, shaking his head in amusement, "While I have to agree with you there, Jordan, my Spectre Status must still count for something. Plus, I'm sure Miranda knows how to operate undercover. Isn't that right, Miss Lawson?"

"Dunno about your Spectre Status." Jordan said, "After all, you've been considered KIA for the last two years."

Miranda used her omni-tool for just a moment, before the symbol vanished from her outfit, "There, happy?"

Jordan mumbled under his breath, "Still gonna attract a ton of attention…"

With a smirk on his face, Shepard turned around and opened the airlock, allowing him and his squad to exit, "Alright, let's go. We have a thief to recruit and a Council to meet."

Stepping out of the ship and walking through the narrow tunnel connecting the airlock to the Citadel, the four of them entered the docking bay on the 27th level of Zakera Ward. Looking around, they saw countless civilians walking around, talking to C-Sec and immigration officers, all with a nearby security checkpoint between them and the rest of the Ward. Over to the far side, there was some sort of weird advertisement screen, which happened to be where they were headed.

 _"Commander Shepard, we have the finest companions, waiting for you."_ The female voice on the holographic advertisement display said as they approached.

"Yeah… that's not creepy at all." Garrus commented.

Miranda nodded in agreement, "They scan your omni-tool to gather your information, before directly appealing to you. No matter how many times I've seen it, I always find it unsettling."

Jordan, however, smirked as he looked upon the semi-covered hooded face of Kasumi Goto on the holographic display.

 _"Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style?"_ The advertisement continued.

Before Shepard could even speak, Garrus cut in, "Damn Shepard, must be reading off your extranet history. Just what have you been searching? And how would Liara feel?" He teased.

Jordan didn't need to see Shepard's face to know he'd gone red and wide-eyed, he turned around to glare at Garrus, "Vakarian…"

However, the Turian was not intimidated, continuing to smirk as he held up his hands in mock surrender, "Alright, alright."

"Besides, this is the spot that we're supposed to meet, so…" Shepard turned back around and touched the advertisement, which quickly changed to static.

"Nice, Shepard. You broke it." Jordan commented with a smile. Miranda simply shook her head at their jokes.

Shepard made it a point to ignore them as he focused on the screen, which finally readjusted itself and redisplayed the woman from earlier. _"Please enter your password, Commander Shepard."_

"Silence is golden." He replied easily, confident that this was, indeed, the meeting point described.

The figure on screen smirked, "Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto… I'm a fan!"

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Zakera Ward, Floor 27, Docking Bay.**

**March 13th, 2185. 10:27 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Miranda Lawson was pissed.

Why, pray tell, was Miranda pissed? Well, once Shepard finished recruiting Kasumi Goto and his conversation with the Japanese thief, he decided to swap Miranda out for her for the duration of this mission on the Citadel. He needed to see the thief in action, personally, and figured the upcoming recruitment mission would be a perfect place to figure that out. Plus, it might make things go more smoothly with the Council if Cerberus wasn't present in the room as well. Needless to say, Miranda didn't agree.

In response to this, Shepard stepped aside to talk to her personally, allowing Jordan and Garrus a moment to chat with their newest crew member, Kasumi Goto.

Despite the odd, purple armor Jordan was wearing, and the badass-looking Turian before her, Kasumi didn't seem intimidated in the slightest, simply beaming at the two of them as she reached a hand out towards Garrus.

"Kasumi Goto, Galaxy's best thief." She introduced herself, smiling still.

Garrus, fairly familiar with Human traditions, took the hand and shook it, "Garrus Vakarian, all-around badass."

Jordan shook his head in amusement, smirking underneath his helmet as they finished their handshake. Kasumi then turned toward Jordan, "And you must be tall, purple, and quiet?"

Extending her hand once more, Jordan took it and shook her hand as well, both parties smiling, "Sounds about right. Jordan Sower, at your service, Miss Goto."

"Please, call me Kasumi. Miss Goto is reserved for clients. Gotta keep an air of professionalism around them, after all." She said, before her eyes widened, "Jordan Sower… your name sounds very familiar."

Garrus gave the equivalent of a Turian smirk, "That's because Mr. Sower, here, is the Galaxy's most wanted." He said quietly, so that others don't overhear him.

Kasumi's eyes widened a bit further under her cloak, looking at Jordan questionably, "That's where I heard the name from." Her eyes darted from Jordan's helmet to Shepard and back, "You don't seem as dangerous as they make you out to be." She honestly said, watching Jordan carefully.

Jordan chuckled, "I'm not a bad guy, I promise."

"So, what'd you do?" Kasumi asked, raising an eyebrow as humor resumed in her eyes, slightly more at ease.

Shrugging, Jordan responded, "Worked with an entire race of artificial intelligences. The Geth, mostly."

Garrus elbowed Jordan, "And assassinated Ambassador Udina."

"Well, he was kinda a dick." Kasumi commented, not overly bothered by this. At least it wasn't something like blowing up a Colony.

Jordan narrowed his eyes under his helmet, not that they could tell, "Wasn't me, Vakarian. I still maintain my innocence."

"Last name basis? Ouch, you wound me, Sower." Garrus shot back.

"Hey, I believe him." Kasumi added with a smile.

"Thank you, Kasumi."

"I think we'll get along just fine…"

"Alright, party's over." Commander John Shepard interrupted, walking back over with Miranda nowhere in sight. He looked at Kasumi for a moment before grinning, "I see everyone introduced themselves. How do you feel about the team so far, Kasumi?"

"If the rest of your crew are like them, then this'll be fun, Shep." She responded with a smile.

"Shep?" John asked, an eyebrow raised with his arms crossed.

"It's a nice nickname, Shep." Garrus said, smirking, "I kinda like it, Shep."

Shepard narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "Alright, let's just go, before I do something that _you_ regret, Vakarian." He said, motioning for them to follow him as he led them towards the C-Sec checkpoint.

Before they could even get close, someone interrupted them.

"Commander Shepard?" A feminine voice called out from their left.

Walking calmly towards them was a single Asari, adorned with stunning purple facial markings. She wore an advanced and highly expensive set of blue, black, and white armor, with the Spectre logo on her right shoulder. With a light smirk perking up the left of her lip, she crossed her arms and stopped a few feet before reaching the group of four. She radiated confidence and power.

Shepard eyed the Spectre symbol for a moment, before returning to eye contact with her dark blue eyes. Crossed his arms as well, he responded, "Do I know you, Spectre…?"

She continued to smile, extending a hand in greeting, "Spectre Tela Vasir." She introduced herself.

Taking the offered hand carefully, Shepard shook it, "You seem to already know who I am, Spectre Vasir. To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" He asked, guarded.

She easily noticed this, "I'm not here to cause trouble, Commander. In fact, I came to lend a hand, so to speak."

Garrus watched the woman carefully, speaking up now, "Why do you think we need help?"

Tela shrugged, "We all know how hard-headed the Council can be." She said, eyeing Shepard at that statement, "I figured you'd need help getting them on your side, both against the Reapers and to pardon Jordan."

Shepard nearly flinched at the mention of Jordan's pardon, considering it was something no one else should've known about. Seeing the worry on his face, she smiled, "Relax, Jordan contacted me about it. We figured it'd take more than a zombie to convince the Council of anything. Even before you died, they hardly listened, what makes you think it'd be easier?"

Commander Shepard sighed, agreeing completely with what she said. He tried to be hopefully, and give the Council the benefit of the doubt, but ultimately… they'd let him down once more, more likely than not. Turning to Jordan, Shepard frowned, "When we return to the ship, there will be words, Jordan."

Jordan sighed through his comms, "Understood, Commander."

Tela's smile grew a little bit larger as she turned her attention to Jordan, "Long time no see, Avatar."

Jordan smiled back, which went unseen due to the helmet, "Same to you, Spectre."

Tela turned her attention back to Shepard, "Let's go see the Council. And don't worry about Citadel Security… Being an official, alive Spectre still has its privileges… plus a few officers owe me some favors."

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Embassies.**

**March 13th, 2185. 11:54 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Tela was right.

It turned out, Officer Bailey owed the Spectre several favors. Combined with Tela's presence as a Spectre and Shepard 'returning from the dead', he was easily waved through security under the guard of a Spectre or two. Kasumi, as Jordan had expected, also completely bypassed security thanks to her tactical cloak and thievery skills. Garrus didn't set off any alarms, go figure. While Shepard was put back into the system by said officer Bailey.

After that and a quick trip in a skycab, the group of five arrived at the Embassies. Right outside of Councilor Anderson's office.

Shepard smiled, pressing the holographic display to open the door, "Let's go… and please, follow my lead." He said, mostly talking to all non-Spectres in the group.

"I'm fine with that, Shep. Just don't mention my name in front of Valern and I'll be fine." Kasumi commented, while Jordan and Garrus simply nodded.

"Shepard will be here any-" Councilor Anderson could be heard as they entered the room, before turning towards them, "Oh, Commander. We were just talking about you."

Mumbling under his breath where only Tela heard him, Jordan said, "Of course, perfect timing…"

Shepard couldn't help but break out into a huge grin, shaking Anderson's hand, "It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple years have treated you right."

Anderson smiled lightly as well, "There've been some rough spots. It's good to have you back."

Turning to the side, the group of five and Anderson turned towards the three holographic forms of the other Councilors. Sparatus, Valern, and Tevos. Stepping forward, Tela joined Shepard's side to be in better view of the Council.

Valern spoke first, _"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are… unsettling."_

The ever-present negotiator, Councilor Tevos, continued, _"We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his Geth."_

"Heretics…" Jordan mumbled, correcting them a bit louder now, so both Kasumi and Garrus heard him too, but no one else.

Shepard nodded, "The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse, we think they're working for the Reapers." He told them.

 _"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! Your colonist knew this when they left Council Space."_ Everyone's favorite Councilor, Sparatus, shot back.

Anderson, luckily and as expected, cut in, "You're missing the important part, Councilor. The Reapers are involved."

 _"Ah, yes, "Reapers"."_ Everyone's favorite Councilor air-quoted, _"The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim."_

Anderson took a small step back and turned to Shepard, "Shepard, no one else encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you the truth about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke with Sovereign." His eyes turned sympathetic, "I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the Geth attacks."

John shook his head, "Saren was an organic. The Geth would never accept him as their leader. They only followed him because he was Sovereign's agent!"

 _"Saren was a compelling and charismatic individual. He convinced the geth the Reapers were real… just as he convinced you."_ Tevos countered.

Sparatas added on, _"And just look at the Galaxy's most wanted, Jordan Sower."_ He said, not knowing Jordan was in this very room, " _He is an organic as well, yet the Geth seem to follow him just the same."_ He shook his head, _"The Reapers are just a myth. One you insist on perpetuating."_

Now Shepard was getting frustrated, "I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel. I sacrificed human lives to save this Council." He pointed out, "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Tevos frowned, _"We are in a difficult position, Shepard. You are working for Cerberus. An avowed enemy of the Council. This is treason, a capital offense."_

"That is too far!" Councilor Anderson jumped in, interrupting that train of thought, "Shepard is a hero. I'm on this Council, too, and I won't let this whitewash continue!"

"I agree." Tela finally cut in, all eyes on her, "Commander Shepard went out of his way to help this Council. He stopped the Geth invasion, liberated the Citadel from Saren's control, and saved your lives. All in the line of duty… because that's what Spectres do!" She crossed her arms, stepping between the Councilors and the others present in the room. "You really think that after all he's done, he'd turn on the Council and commit treason? You've left him no choice if he wants to continue protecting people!"

Tevos looked away in shame for a moment, the only one of the three visibly showing discomfort, _"Perhaps there is a way to compromise?"_ She offered, _"Not a public acknowledgment, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support."_

The Turian Councilor nodded in agreement, _"Shepard, if you keep a low profile and restrict the bulk of your operations to the Terminus Systems, the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre."_

"I'd be honored to accept your offer." He replied graciously, despite his true feelings of frustration towards those three, "It's good to have the Council on my side."

 _"Good luck with your investigation, Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution… and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus."_ Councilor Tevos replied, prepared to close the channel and the meeting, before she was interrupted.

"Not so fast, Councilors." Tela interrupted, "There is another purpose to this meeting."

Valern shook his head, _"I don't believe there was anything else to discuss, Spectre Vasir."_

Sparatus nodded in agreement, _"Yes, this meeting is adjourned. There is nothing more to discuss, unless you'd like to schedule another meeting on a later date."_

Jordan sighed, reaching up to his helmet and breaking the seal, the sound gaining everyone's attention. Slowly, Jordan pulled his helmet off and faced the four shocked Councilors, "Are you sure there's nothing else to discuss?" He asked, smirking.

Tela's jaw dropped as she quickly eyed the scars on Jordan's face, shock written all over her expression at Jordan's appearance. Kasumi was slightly stunned as well for a similar reason. However, the reason the most important four individuals in the room were stunned was simply because…

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Human Embassy.**

**March 13th, 2185. 12:31 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Oh boy, restraints… My favorite…" Jordan said, sitting in an uncomfortable chair with his hands bound behind the back of it by yet another set of omni-cuffs.

Standing nearby with an Avenger assault rifle in his arms, was Kaiden Alenko, one of the individuals currently on Anderson's security team from the Alliance. He had a frown on his face, wearing black and blue armor with Alliance symbols galore all over it.

Tela Vasir, now over her shock about Jordan's appearance, had her arms crossed as she glared at the four Councilors, "Was this really necessary?"

Tevos' hologram nodded, _"Yes, it is, Spectre Vasir. Though, I am surprised that you are accompanying such a criminal. Did you know this was Jordan before he took his mask off?"_

Vasir nodded, "Yes, Councilors. I was the one who escorted him here, to bring him before you." She replied easily.

Valern motioned towards Jordan, _"Than that was a job well done, Spectre. You've apprehended the most dangerous criminal in the Galaxy."_

"What? Because I don't think the Geth are all that bad and that they deserve rights as any sapient species deserves?" Jordan asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes before turning to Kaiden, "And did you really have to be so rough? I was complying."

Kaiden, however, didn't respond. He was far too troubled by Shepard's appearance, glowing orange scars and all… oh, and that he was currently part of a terrorist organization right now, too.

Anderson looked at Shepard, then at Jordan, "You were also found responsible for assassinating Ambassador Udina."

"Still maintain my innocence."

 _"You broke out of prison."_ Councilor Sparatus responded, _"Seems pretty guilty from where I stand."_

"Hashtag blame Cerberus." Jordan replied.

"What?" Several people in the room both thought and spoke.

Jordan shrugged, "Nevermind." He replied, with a light smirk on his face since they wouldn't understand many of his outdated referances and lingo.

Shepard, finally having enough, stepped forward, "Jordan was not brought here to be apprehended, _esteemed_ Councilors. He's working for me!" He said, emphasizing that last word as he pointed to himself. "With my Spectre Status reinstated, I'm here to pardon him."

 _"Pardon Jordan Sower?"_ Valern asked incredulously, his eyes comically large, _"What ridiculousness is this?"_

 _"Have you truly lost it, Commander?"_ Sparatus asked, _"You've only just been reinstated."_

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy, here."

"Councilors!" Tela Vasir shouted, quieting the Embassy. "I understand your hesitance and fear toward Jordan. He's an unknown." She said, making eye contact with Valern, "He's working with the Geth." She eyed Sparatus at that, "And he's been involved with a lot of shady things and events." Tela took a deep breath as he made eye contact with Tevos for a moment. "I am not asking for a pardon on baseless grounds. Rather, think of the political applications here." She finished, knowing she had at least made them interested.

Councilor Tevos spoke after a moment of silence, _"What political applications are you talking about, Vasir?"_ She asked carefully.

Shepard took it from there, "The Geth." He said, gaining their attention, "I, personally, have seen Jordan Sower being referred to as an Ambassador by the Geth, as I'm sure other witnesses have as well. He presents a golden opportunity to negotiate with the Geth. Something that the Council and organics, in general, have been unable to do until this point."

Tevos almost seemed to be taking the bait, her eyes narrowing slightly as she pondered this in silence.

Shepard looked a bit toward Valern and Tevos, the more reasonable members of the three, "Jordan also claims to have singlehandedly improved the Geth, and knows more about their technology than anyone else in the Galaxy. Imagine the technological advances that could be made possible through Geth technology. Imagine the possibility of peace talks… maybe even allowing the Quarians to go home to Rannoch…"

Sparatus, however, wasn't really convinced, _"And what of the threat that they pose to us. Are we simply going to forget what they did two years ago with Saren? And you with your Reaper nonsense, if they worked with the Reapers, as you say, what makes you think they are trustworthy, or willing to talk?"_

"I assume that also means that humans shouldn't trust Turians because of their bloodthirsty nature? You know, like Relay 314?" Jordan rebutted.

 _"That was different."_ Valern finally responded, _"A single incident can hardly compare to a war waged by a race of machines."_

Jordan rolled his eyes, "Despite the hypocrisy there, you still don't quite understand what truly happened with the Geth, do you?" He asked.

"Please, enlighten us Mister Sower." Councilor Anderson asked, watching Jordan carefully.

"When Sov… when Saren approached the Geth with the offer to work together, there was a… schism, I guess. A small fraction of the Geth wished to go with Saren and work for the Reapers."

_"Reape-."_

Jordan continued, ignoring and cutting of Sparatus, "The larger faction, the True Geth, refused the offer, but allowed the others, branded 'Heretics', to leave peacefully. At that point in time, more than a month prior to Eden Prime, the Geth had split into those two factions. Saren and the Heretic Geth, and then there's the True Geth, the ones I represent." He explained.

 _"This is a lot to take in, Mister Sower. And quite unbelievable."_ Tevos diplomatically said.

Sparatus turned toward his peers, _"Are we really going to consider this? What difference does this make? Regardless of who worked with Saren and who didn't, the point remains that Jordan had broken every Artificial Intelligence rule in the book. Not to mention the assassination..."_

"Which I didn't do…"

 _"Sparatus is right."_ Tevos admitted, _"Even if you are to be believed, that simply absolves you of one crime, leaving dozens more behind that you have been convicted of."_

"How about something else, then?" Shepard asked, the room falling into momentary silence.

 _"What do you have in mind, Commander?"_ Valern asked curiously, the other Councilors and Vasir looking at Shepard with curiosity as well.

"If a pardon is off the table, how about releasing him into Spectre Custody?" He asked, motioning towards Tela Vasir and himself, "I have only been reinstated, and if you fear that I lack loyalty, then what about her? He'd technically still be under your control, but he'd have free movement to be useful in our investigation and fight against the Collectors."

Tevos seemed to think about this for a moment, before turning to her colleagues, Valern and Sparatus. Finally, she spoke, _"If certain conditions were met… then this could be a possibility."_ Tevos turned to face Valern, to see if he had anything to add.

 _"As a condition of his release into Spectre Custody, he should be brought before Citadel Security's Executor every galactic-standard month, for verification and possible interrogations."_ Valern recommended.

Sparatus looked incredibly displeased with this turn of events, but seemed to give in, _"If we are really considering this, then I have a condition of my own. Jordan must be accompanied by a Spectre at all times, except when on the Citadel, there must be at least two... both of you will share this responsibility."_

Tevos looked to Valern, who nodded in agreement to his terms, before she turned to Sparatus, who nodded and agreed to what Valern said. Councilor Tevos looked to Councilor Anderson, to see if he had anything to add, since he'd been mostly quiet for all of this.

David Anderson shook his head, turning to Shepard, "You know I trust you and your judgment, Shepard. But Jordan Sower… are you sure about this?"

John nodded, "He is a valuable asset to my team, Councilors."

"Then I have one more, simple request to add, Councilors." Anderson said, "In order to ascertain the truth of the matter with the Geth, I would like to request a Geth representative visit the Citadel, to speak before the Council. It must be unarmed, and completely cooperative."

Tevos looked to her other two peers, who nodded in agreement, _"Very well, Councilor. Your request is approved."_ She focused her attention on Jordan Sower, _"Mister Sower, do you agree to the provided terms for your conditional release into Spectre Custody?"_

Jordan looked her in her holographic eyes, fully serious as he nodded, "I do, Councilor."

 _"Then it is approved. You are now hereby released into Spectre Shepard and Vasir's custody for the time being."_ Tevos said, before adding, _"Any breach in the established conditions will result in imprisonment, including any trouble with Citadel Security. Your files will be updated shortly."_

Valern spoke up next, _"Your deadline for established communications with a Geth representative is three galactic-standard days, Sower."_

 _"And for your sake, I hope you don't cause any trouble."_ Sparatus added.

 _"This Council meeting is adjourned."_ Tevos ended, leaning forward and turning off the displays on their end, ending the holo-call and meeting.

The room was silent for a few moments, before the silence was broken.

"So… can I be untied now?"

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Human Embassy.**

**March 13th, 2185. 1:23 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Thanks, Kasumi." Jordan said, rubbing his wrists as the omni-cuffs fell off.

Kasumi smiled, "No problem, Ambassador Sower." She said with a light smile, making Jordan's smile grow as he shook his head.

After remaining professional for the entire course of the second half of the meeting, Kaiden looked at the omni-cuffs on the ground with an open jaw, "How did you… those are supposed to be unhackable." He said, amazed.

Kasumi's smile only grew into a grin, "You were taking too long. And nothing's unhackable, not really…"

Before any of them could really talk with Kaiden, he walked away, standing over to the side next to Shepard and Anderson as they had another conversation. Rather than listen in and be rude, they kept to themselves, with Tela coming over to talk with them instead.

Tela Vasir's eyes roamed over Jordan's body and face, still wide in shock and awe about his appearance. "Jordan… what…"

Jordan sighed and looked down in shame, "Remember when I said I upgraded the Geth?" She nodded, "Well, there were some… complications…"

* * *

Standing over to the side, Anderson's glare burned into Shepard's retinas.

"What were you thinking, bringing Jordan in here?!" He asked, having not been informed of such a move in advance, "You might not have seen it, but I could tell, they were considering revoking your status as a Spectre just as quickly as they renewed it."

Shepard nodded, crossing his arms, "I'm sorry, Anderson, but I needed this. He's a valuable member of my crew, and his help would be greatly appreciated, especially if he doesn't have to worry about bounty hunters, mercenaries, and C-Sec."

"About that…" Anderson began, looking away as he led the two of them to the balcony looking over the Presidium, "You know the bounty has only been temporarily lifted. If he so much as sneezes in front of the Council, they'll put the bounty right back on, plus whatever they have in store for you and Spectre Vasir since he's now your responsibility." He took a deep breath, looking Shepard in the eyes carefully, "Is this talk of a peaceful and cooperative Geth true, Shepard?" He asked softly.

Shepard sighed, leaning against the railing beside his father-figure, "If I'm honest, I haven't seen this side of the Geth, myself… but based on everything he's said, and the security footage I've seen on the Citadel, I'd be willing to agree with Jordan." He told him truthfully, "And if the Geth truly are on our side, image the aid they could provide against the Reapers."

Councilor Anderson nodded, yet maintained a frown, "The Reapers… I believe you, Shepard. One hundred percent. The Council is an entirely different matter. It's almost as if they are willfully ignoring the possibility of the Reapers." He turned to look at Shepard carefully, his tone decreasing in volume, "They're afraid, Shepard."

Shepard nodded, "They should be. If the Reapers come, they'll wipe out all advanced civilization. We need to prepare, or we'll die like the countless cycles before us."

Hanging his head, Anderson responded, "I know, Shepard. I'm doing everything in my power to get the ball rolling. I've had moderate success with the Alliance. Last year, Admiral Hackett came forward and began bolstering our defenses, advocating for an increase in military supplies, and even began sponsoring new science teams to explore the Mars Archives." He admitted.

Shepard couldn't help the smile that grew on his face, "At least someone recognizes the threat."

"The other Councilors may be claiming they don't exist, but I think they acknowledge the possibility, at least on some level." Anderson said, "I've noticed the Salarians, in particular, have begun to prepare, in a way. The STG has increased their numbers by nearly 30 percent in the last year. They're preparing for something…"

"Sir!"

The two men turned to see Kaiden Alenko approach them, saluting Anderson in particular, as the man in question waved it off, "At ease, Alenko."

Shepard smiled, "Kaiden…"

Kaiden, however, did not return the friendly, warm smile of his ex-Commander. He replied simply, "Shepard."

Shepard frowned, but didn't speak back to him.

Anderson spoke up after an awkward silence, "So, tell me more about this mission of yours, Shepard." He said with a gentler smile.

John nodded, "The Collectors."

"Collectors?" Kaiden asked, as if he'd heard about them before, before shaking his head and looking at Shepard, "They're just a myth, right?"

Shepard shook his head, "They've been abducting human colonies in the Terminus Systems. They'd shut down communications, deploy troops and Seeker Swarms, immobilize the population, and abduct them."

"Why haven't we heard about this, then?" Kaiden asked, scrutinizing the Commander, "The Alliance would have surely noticed if this has been going on." He claimed, "What if this is just Cerberus propaganda, Shepard, twisting the truth for their own ends?"

Narrowing his eyes in anger, Shepard shook his head, "Dammit Kaiden, this isn't about Cerberus. The Alliance is simply blaming pirates or mercs for the disappearances."

"If this isn't about Cerberus, then why are you working with them? Are you even the real Shepard? The Commander I know would never work with Cerberus!"

"Cerberus is the only group willing to actually do anything about this problem. Hell, the Alliance won't even publically acknowledge the possibility of the Reapers."

"That's enough!" Anderson demanded, silencing the two of them, "Alenko, that was out of line. Shepard, the Alliance is doing everything they can. Fact is, the Alliance is spread thin after Sovereign's attack on the Citadel two years ago."

John nodded, "I understand, Anderson…" He said, looking away. "Regardless, I'm still needed. I don't care if the Council or the Alliance won't stand with me…" He became completely serious, "I'll doing everything I can to stop the Reapers." He said with absolute conviction.

Unable to help the proud smile that appeared on his face, Anderson put a hand on John's shoulder, "Good." He said, before looking down upon one of the Presidium's lakes, "I'm sure you came for more than just this entertaining meeting with the Council, so what can I do for you?"

Sparing a glance at Kaiden, Shepard asking what he's been wondering for some time now, "Where's Williams?"

"Classified." Kaiden said coldly, still not quite trusting this Shepard imposter. John glared at his old comrade, but was cut off before he could respond.

Anderson sighed, "I'm sorry, Shepard, but it is classified." He said, "She's on an important mission for the Alliance. One that I can't divulge, even for you."

Rather than fight it, Shepard simply sighed, "I understand…"

"So, I see you're putting together a crew for this mission." Anderson observed, trying to change topics, "I won't comment on who I don't know, but it's nice to see Vakarian again." He said with a smile, "You two always did get along quite well. That is, if the reports are to be believed."

"How did you convince Garrus to work for Cerberus?" Kaiden asked, turning his attention to Garrus, who stood with his arms crossed as he watched Jordan and Vasir speak, standing beside the odd, hooded woman.

"I simply told him the truth, Kaiden." Shepard said softly, turning to him, "And we're not working for Cerberus. _They_ are working _with_ me!" He emphasized those two words, "Once the Collectors are dealt with, the temporary partnership will end. Just a sudden and abruptly as it began."

Kaiden nodded, seeming to accept this, "Good…" He sighed, looking at Shepard as his expression softened, "I hope you know what you're doing, Shepard…"

Shepard smiled, happy to know that Kaiden wasn't completely against him now. Turning to Anderson, he took a deep breath, "I do have an important request, sir."

Arching an eyebrow in curiosity, Anderson replied, "As long as it's not classified, I might be able to help. What do you need?"

"It's about the Vigilante." Shepard began, making both men turn to him, "I'm here to recruit him for the mission. To go beyond the Omega 4 Relay to the Collector Homeworld and stop them once and for all."

"That's suicide…" Kaiden mumbled, bewildered.

Anderson, however, was caught up on the Vigilante. "The Vigilante…"

Shepard nodded, "I need to find and speak to him. Can you help?"

"I might be able to…" Anderson said slowly, closing his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath, "Recently, he's begun destroying every Leviathan Orb on the Citadel. You know what those are, don't you?"

"Leviathan Orbs… weren't they being studied because of the possibility that they may have been another spaceflight-enabled civilization older than the Protheans?" Shepard asked, remembering a few articles he had read about them.

"Exactly. For reasons unknown to us and C-Sec, he's been hunting down every single orb on the Citadel, destroying them. One of the few remaining ones is currently located on the Presidium, within a hotel and under the possession of an artifact collector." Anderson informed him, "If he hasn't destroyed it yet, he'll be heading there soon, more likely than not."

"What can you tell me about him?"

"Not much." Anderson admitted, "He's successfully avoided C-Sec at every turn, but has yet to kill without reason. The incidents he has been involved in have allowed authorities to narrow down his capabilities. He prefers shotguns and pistols when he uses firearms, but has been seen using both biotic and tech abilities. At least, that's what's been observed."

Shepard nodded, "Thank you, Anderson. Could you send me his location? I need to get him and continue the mission as soon as possible, before more colonies are abducted."

Anderson nodded, typing away on his omni-tool, "Here you go. I'll notify you when he's been seen on the premises." He told him as he finished, "And Shepard… Good luck, and don't be a stranger." David said, extending a hand toward his mentee.

Smiling, Shepard took the offered hand, "It was good to see you, Anderson. I'll see you around."

He turned to leave, before Kaiden stopped him, "I don't agree with your partnership with Cerberus…" He said honestly, frowning before it turned to a small smile, "But good luck, Shepard. Go kick those Reaper asses!" He extended a hand of his own.

Shepard smiled and nodded to him, too, as he took his hand and shook it, "Thanks, Kaiden. I hope, after this mission, that we have the opportunity to work together once more."

"As do I… Commander…"

Shepard nodded and left, heading back to his squad mates: Jordan, Tela, Garrus, and Kasumi, interrupting their conversation.

"You can finish your conversations back on the Normandy. We have information on the Vigilante, but until more intel comes in, we have free time." Shepard told them, "Let's go!"


	29. Chapter 25: Dossier: The Vigilante

** Chapter 25: Dossier: The Vigilante **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Skycar En Route to The Olympus.**

**March 14th, 2185. 8:22 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

It's Pi Day!

Not that the simple fact had anything to do with what was going on.

In actuality, the previous day, despite the encounter with the Council, was lackluster and mostly normal aboard the Normandy. Tela Vasir got situated on board, given a private room of her own on another deck on the Normandy. Though she didn't quite agree with Cerberus, she decided to join the ground team as a member and a valuable asset both within and beyond Council space. Kasumi Goto, as expected, set up her stuff in her lounge, with the fully equipped bar and everything.

They were introduced to the crew and, as expected, Miranda wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of having a Council Spectre aboard and as a member of the crew. Despite her protests, Shepard remained unmoved on the issue, telling Miranda to take it up with the Illusive Man if she had such an issue with it. Despite her arguments, the Illusive Man had yet to contact anyone about the issue, leading Jordan to believe that Miranda decided not to complain.

Other than that, it was a simple evening, with the only other interesting thing that occurred being the continuation of Tela's and Jordan's conversation of what has happened on Rannoch and with the Geth during his several months of silence. She knew something happened to the Geth, since many of them worked with Liara on the Broker ship, but didn't know any of the details. She was shocked, but understanding and even sympathetic towards his current situation with his appearance. Otherwise, yeah, just a normal night.

That is, until Shepard got a call from Anderson, informing him that the Vigilante had entered The Olympus, the very same hotel where Jordan stayed when he first arrived on the Citadel.

Shepard had decided to take him, Kasumi, and Tela as his squad. Together, they all hopped into a skycar to get to the hotel ASAP once they were suited up and ready.

Everything was normal, and it seemed like it would be a simple mission after all… that is, until Shepard got a call from Anderson.

_"Shepard. There's a situation."_

"What is it, Anderson?" He replied, the entire conversation was audible to the four of them.

_"There's been an attack on the Presidium. An entire company of mercenaries have descended upon The Olympus. We think they're after the Vigilante."_

Shepard's eyes widened slightly, "What about C-Sec?"

_"Occupied and stretched thin. Many of the mercenaries have begun taking hostages throughout the Presidium. With this going on, there's no way C-Sec can get anywhere near the Olympus… which is where the Council comes in."_

"The Council?" Tela Vasir asked, straightening up a bit as she asked.

 _"They have officially named both you and Shepard as Spectres assigned to this situation."_ He informed them, _"As such, your primary objectives are putting a stop to the attack and learning why this is happening."_ Anderson paused, before answering the unspoken question, _"Survivors and civilians are a secondary priority, Shepard. Save them if you can, but you must stop the mercenaries."_

"Who do we have, Councilor?" Tela asked, "Who's attacking? Blue Suns? Eclipse?"

_"We don't have much intel on the enemy, other than the name of their company. We're working on more information, but… it is the Talons."_

Jordan swallowed harshly. This didn't sound good.

 _"Good luck, Spectres."_ Anderson said, _"And make sure the Vigilante lives. He's done a lot of good work for the Citadel and its citizens. He doesn't deserve whatever the Talons have against him."_

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus.**

**March 14th, 2185. 8:34 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Thanks to his Spectre Status, Shepard was able to override the safety protocols and C-Sec warnings that tried to force the skycar to turn back. Once the four of them landed, they hopped out, staring up at the large structure before them.

Commander Shepard pulled his assault rifle off of his back, as Jordan did the same with his Geth Pulse Rifle, Vasir took out her shotgun, and Kasumi pulled out an SMG. As they prepared to enter, wearing full armor, Shepard spoke over their comms, trying to talk to EDI. "What do we have, EDI?"

_"Squads of Talon Mercenaries are spread throughout the entire structure. The room of the artifact collector is located on floor 19, room 210. The Vigilante is likely there, pinned down by the Talons. Warning. The Talons have taken control of Security. It will be impossible to reach the Vigilante in time unless you disable their lockdown of the building."_

Shepard nodded, "You heard her." He called back to the other three, "We're going in. First objective is Security. We take that, we might actually have a shot." He turned towards the three of them as he relayed the plan, "Sower, by my side. We'll sweep together. Vasir, you take point. Your biotics are better suited for close range, so let them have it. Kasumi, you stick to the side. Use your tactical cloak to your advantage. Take the enemy out and confuse them. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, Shepard."

"Clear, Commander."

"You got it, Shep."

"Let's do this." Shepard said quietly, smiling beneath his helmet.

Tela leading the group, the doors opened into the lobby of the hotel, showing a squad of six Talons standing around near the front desk, who immediately noticed them as the door slid open. "Intruders!" One of them shouted as they raised weapons.

Kasumi smiled, vanishing from sight immediately, "Now you see me…"

As instructed earlier, Tela biotically charged forward, smashing into the lone merc in the back with a sniper rifle. As his shields fell, two successive shotgun blasts from Tela put him down. Together, Jordan and Shepard swept with their assault rifles, hitting many of the mercs as they scrambled for cover.

"Dammit, we're outclassed! We need backup!" A deep voice yelled, likely into his radio.

To the group's left, an elevator dinged and opened, letting out another squad of Talons into the lobby, opening fire upon Shepard and Jordan and forcing them into cover. Protecting Shepard, Jordan made himself a bigger target by moving slower, while upgrading his shields with his Geth Shield Boost, safely allowing him to reach cover as well.

"They're pinned down. Advance!" One of the new mercs commanded, ignoring the deaths of the original squad as Tela ripped them to shreds for a moment, before she ducked into cover from their fire. She would have charged at them as well, but then another elevator opened, doubling the second squad's size.

"Kasumi, back up Vasir!"

The three mercs focusing on Tela and keeping her pinned suddenly ignited with volts of electricity arcing between the three, shorting out their shields. Stunned for a moment, the middle of the three men flew forward from a strike from an invisible foe. Taking advantage of the situation, Tela biotically charged into one of them, killing him instantly, before transferring the rest of her momentum into a biotic punch into the ground, sending out a small biotic shockwave, which hit the remaining of the three mercs, killing him and sending other enemies staggering backward.

Jordan, now with his heavy disruptor ammo activated, opened fire with Shepard once more, taking down the rest of the low-level mercenaries.

The lobby was silent for a moment, before Tela called out, "All hostiles down, Shepard."

Smiling, Shepard stood up and out of cover. He pointed towards the de-facto leader of the merc group in the lobby, "Jordan, see if you can patch us into their comm network."

"Alrighty…" Jordan said quietly, bending over and grabbing one of the helmets. He tinkered away for a few moments, a low glow of green was visible through his polarized helmet, displaying his power as he worked. "Got it… patching us in… now!"

 _"-status of squad beta?"_ A man's voice came over the hacked comm.

 _"Negative. Squads Charlie and Delta have stopped reporting in as well."_ Another man responded.

_"Dammit? C-Sec already?"_

_"Negative. Cameras show an asari and three humans. No C-Sec armor, but their helmets are obstructing their identities."_

A new, female voice came over the radio, _"Elite Company hasn't taken down the Avatar, yet. I'm redirecting squads Zeta, Juliet, and Romeo to your position. Do not lose Security!"_

 _"Yes, ma'am!"_ Both voices cried out in sync.

_"And get off the damn radio. Your useless chatter is distracting."_

And with that, their channel went silent. "Sounds like we'll have a welcoming committee at Security." Jordan commented.

"Don't worry… I'll take care of it."

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Security Room.**

**March 14th, 2185. 8:57 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"David, turn that shit off!" One of the mercs cried out, working away at a terminal to prevent C-Sec from regaining control of the building.

Another merc nearby, David, shook his helmeted head as music kept playing aloud, "Nah man, this shit's amazing. No wonder the boss lady listens to the old classics so often!" He called back, moving his body as he danced to it in the center of the room.

_'Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito'_

_'Deja que te diga cosas al oído'_

_'Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo'_

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" Another one cried out, "Turn on something written in the last century, David! Or so help me God, this'll be the last song you ever hear!"

"C'mon, it's amazing!" David yelled back over the music, "Besides, it's so boring in here!"

"Boring?!" Another merc asked, the leader of the squad in Security, "Are you fucking kidding me? We've taken control of a building on the Presidium, are hunting down a vigilante, and we have an elite group of unknowns incinerating everyone on their way here! How in the hell is that boring?"

"C'mon, Blake, lighten up." David said, pointing towards the doors, "The door is blast and hack-proof. There's no way anyone could get in here. We just have to keep the door closed until the mission's complete, and we'll be good!"

"Oh, shi-!" The merc at the terminal screamed out as his monitor exploded, electrocuting him and cutting off his cry as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Blake turned towards his unconscious body, pulled his rifle off of his back as he approached, "What happened?! And turn that shit off, now!"

David finally complied, turning off the old 'classic' as he approached his friend, "Looks like a terminal malfunction."

"Bullshit." Blake responded, "It was perfectly fine thirty minutes ago… hey, what's the status on those intruders?"

Another merc at another terminal called out, "There's only three of them right now, but they're still coming. Just about finished mopping the floor with Tango squad."

"Where's intruder number four?"

"Unclear, si- ah!" The merc yelled, as his monitor, too, exploded, sending him to the ground with burns as he went under, just like his friend.

"Something's not right, sir." Another merc called out, standing up from his terminal and taking a few steps away from his. "They shouldn't be malfunctioning like this. I'm calling it in." He declared.

Blake nodded, turning on his comms to connect him with the rest of the squads, _"There's something wrong in Security. All the terminals are going haywire!"_

Their boss called back immediately over the channel, _"Make sure there's no intruders… wait a moment..."_ She paused for a moment, _"Describe the intruders for me."_

Blake looked at one of the remaining, functioning terminals, _"There's an asari in blue and white armor. I see a human male, with some sort of weird purple armor. And there's another man black and red armor. And there was another woman with them wearing some sort of hood, but she's gone."_

The line went silent for a moment, before she responded, _"Dammit! Shepard's here for the Vigilante. Elite Company, double time! I want that man dead, yesterday. And Blake, turn on thermal scans. You've got a thief in there with you…"_ And with that, the comm line went dead once more.

"A thief…?" Black asked aloud, confused as he turned to the rest of his men.

"Nah man, fuck this!" Another merc cried out in alarm as he rose to his feet, ignoring the majority of their boss' warning, "Commander fucking Shepard is here! Didn't you hear her?!" He turned to his colleagues, "We're all gonna die! Why aren't we evacing?"

"We have our orders, so calm the fuck down!" Blake yelled back, "Everyone, you heard the boss lady. She thinks there's a thief in here, so let's turn on our…" His train of thought was ended when someone else spoke.

"Ah drat." An unknown female voice responded after a moment, "And here I was, having fun listening to music with you guys…" Before Blake even had the chance to locate the origin of the voice, the entire room exploded with light, blinding the mercs and leaving them to the intruder's mercy.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Security Room.**

**March 14th, 2185. 9:17 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard shook his head in amusement as he and his remaining two squadmates entered the now unlocked and hostile-free security room.

Sitting beside the primary terminal in the room, Kasumi sat with a grin under her hood and her feet propped up on the desk before her. Several terminals around her were now piles of smoking metal, while the room was decorated with over a dozen Talon mercs, both on the ground and slumped over desks and chairs. Most seemed to be dead, except for a single merc, who appeared retrained to another chair near Kasumi. Said merc was conscious, but was wisely remaining silent.

"Hey, Shep." She said simply, "These employees are so unprofessional, aren't they? Figured you'd like to speak to a manager." She motioned to the restrained merc.

Shepard turned to Jordan and Vasir, "Jordan, work with Kasumi and locate the Vigilante. Try to check on our other friends looking for him." Jordan nodded with a smile and went over toward Kasumi, before bending over a bit as he began working on the terminal. "Vasir, check so make sure they're all dead. Don't want any surprises." She nodded and did what she was told, too.

After his commands were given, the Commander approached the merc.

"Who're you?" He asked simply.

"Fuck you. I have nothing to say to you."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, before Kasumi cut in with her own comments, "His name's Blake. Kinda the head honcho of this little band of mercs in here."

Shepard nodded, "Blake." He said, before looking the man in the eyes, "Why are the Talons going after the Vigilante?"

Blake shook his head, "Screw you, Shepard." He basically spat out.

Taking a deep breath, Shepard brought out his most dangerous weapon against people like Blake: His charisma. Shaking his head slowly, John spoke, "You obviously know who I am, so you know what I'm capable of. This carnage? This was caused by just one of my squadmates. Do you really think you or any of the other Talons here are going to be able to stop us?"

Blake hesitated for a moment, but didn't respond.

Shepard knew he was getting somewhere, "Listen. Tell me what I want to know, and I can help you out, here. C-Sec will regain control of this building. After the attacks this morning, do you really think they will simply read you your rights and bring you into custody? We both know Palin isn't a huge fan of humans."

"I… I want you to let me go." Blake said, his hard eyes staring into Shepard's. "My freedom for information."

Shepard hesitated for a moment, before replying, "Depends on the information. It better be good."

Hanging his head in defeat, Blake gave in and began, "Our boss… Commander Smith, she claims we're here because the Vigilante has been attacking our operations on the Citadel." He admitted, "But… I've heard her talking to her second-in-command. I think it's personal."

"Who is she? Commander Smith?" He asked, wishing to know about this mysterious woman.

"She came to Omega and found the Talons nearly two years ago." He explained, "We only knew her as Jane Doe, some kind of pseudonym. She rose through the ranks and began Nyreen's second in command of the Talons, earning the title of Commander and she began to use the name 'Smith'. She fought for control, before gravely wounding Commander Kandros. With her gone, she took command and began recruiting. We've grown to rival other merc groups."

"Who is her second-in-command?"

"No one knows!" He said quickly, "He appeared suddenly, and always wears a helmet with a voice scrambler. All I know is that he has her complete trust… and he's a heartless bastard."

"What about the reason you're here? You said it's something personal?"

"I don't know. Just last month, we began to branch out beyond Omega and began to set up shop on the Citadel. Somehow, the Vigilante kept finding our warehouses and bases. We've lost millions of credits worth of smuggled good in the last month to him." He paused, looking over to the side for a moment, "But our boss… she was pissed. Like, beyond pissed." Shepard raised an eyebrow, so he continued, "Obviously, the money loss pissed her off, but once she learned it was the Vigilante… she just lost it. She wanted the man taken alive and questioned before, but the Vigilante… she wanted him dead."

"He must've really pissed off your boss." Jordan commented as he finished up his work on the terminal, with Kasumi still in her previous position, simply watching everything. After another moment, Jordan spoke again, "Found him. He's still on the 19th floor and I've regained control of the elevators. There'll be one waiting for us in the lobby."

Shepard nodded as Tela walked over to them, "What about this guy?" She said, motioning towards Blake.

Blake stared at Shepard with wide eyes, "I've told you everything I know! Shepard, please, can I go?"

Shepard looked to his companions for their opinions.

"He kept his end of the deal, Shepard. As dangerous as he is, I'd let him go. The Talons will know he's a whistleblower, so they'd kill him if he went back." Jordan said.

Kasumi shrugged, "You could let him run. Or, you could turn him over to C-Sec. Let them deal with the criminal."

"Aren't you a criminal, too?" Jordan mumbled.

"No, but my twenty-three other identities have a few warrants out for them." She replied with a small smile.

Ignoring them, Shepard turned to Tela to get her opinion.

Tela shook her head, "I say kill him." She replied neutrally, making Blake's eye bulged, "If you let him go, he'll return to the Talons. And if he's taken by C-Sec, he'll just be released back to them anyway. The safest solution is to kill him and move on." She finished, glaring at the merc.

"N-no!" Blake yelled, "I-I swear! If you let me go, I-I will give up my life as a merc. If you let me be taken, I'll be killed. I don't want to die!" He pleaded.

Shepard sighed, took a deep breath, and made a choice on the matter, "I'll let you go, but if I ever see your face again, I won't be so merciful next time!" he promised him, releasing the restraints.

"Th-thank you, Commander." He stuttered, standing up and beginning to walk away, "I won't forget this." Blake said, before leaving. As expected, he didn't try to warn anyone over the radio, simply leaving and not looking back.

Tela looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't. Jordan, however, smirked and muttered, "Paragon…"

They all heard him, and were confused in their own ways, before Shepard decided to ignore it and turn towards the exit, "Alright, we have a Vigilante to catch!"

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, Main Lobby.**

**March 14th, 2185. 9:33 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard and his companions approached the elevators, only for two squads of six to appear from around the corner and another hallway. As they immediately open fired and forced them into cover, the elevator dinged and opened, allowing a single individual to step out.

Unlike the other 'grunts', this Talon Merc had glowing blue eyes on his helmet and wore yellow and black armor with a Talon symbol on his chest. However, what made him far more intimidating was the glowing blood-red omni-tool on his right arm, forming the shape of what appeared to be a bow at the end of his hand.

"Talon Engineer…" Jordan whispered to himself as he took in the merc's appearance, having recognized the form from the ME3 multiplayer. Jordan knew one thing from this man's appearance. He would not be an easy enemy.

 _"Stay in cover!"_ The man yelled, clearly in charge towards his comrades as he quickly ran forward to cover of his own, _"Do not underestimate Shepard!"_

Shepard swept with his rifle over his cover to his right, managing to take out two of the twelve grunts before he was forced back into cover. As he returned, an arrow whizzed over his head, impacting a wall behind him as it embedded the majority of itself into the wall. It would have greatly damaged Shepard's shields if it had hit.

To make matters worse, another elevator opened, allowing two more Talon Engineers to join the fight.

Seeing this, Shepard knew it was time to try out one of Jordan Sower's special abilities as a so-called 'avatar'. "Kasumi, flash and vanish. Tela, Charge. Jordan… Synthesis. I'll take their leaders." Shepard called out his commands as his shields fully recharged.

As instructed, Kasumi began with a flashbang, throwing it out into the dead center of the remaining mercs, causing the grunts to be overwhelmed by the light and blast, while only forcing the engineers to remain in cover in order to not be affected by the blast. As soon as the grenade left her hand, the thief vanished, taking on a few of the enemies to the left. Tela, as the enemy was stunned, biotically charged into the group on the right, the blast sending those still alive to the ground. However, something felt odd to the two women.

Although asari do not need a biotic amp since they are fully natural biotics, she has an experimental one in place, greatly increasing her capacity and range of biotic skills. Such an amp is not technically legal in any sense within the Galaxy, but as a Spectre, the rules really didn't matter to her. Regardless, instead of feeling a slight increase in heat from her amp, it felt rather cool. Vasir's biotics, in fact, felt fully recharged and ready to go, as she charged again, before comboing into a biotic shockwave. Such raw power, as she was used to, yet her amp felt as if it were ready to keep going all day. Even her shotgun, it seemed, could make a few extra shots per thermal clip as she finished mopping up the remaining mercs on her side.

Kasumi, likewise, found something very peculiar with her tactical cloak. As she opened fire with her submachine gun upon the unsuspecting enemy, her tactical cloak wavered, but remained intact, somehow. Rather than collapse and fully reveal her, it remained as her bullets entered the enemies. In fact, even her weapon seemed to work better than normal, not needing to be reloaded immediately. Despite the surprise and partial invisibility, she took a few hits from the enemies as she took care of them, not fully losing her shields in the process, luckily. Soon, just like Tela, she finished mopping up the mercs on her side, before she entered cover to flank the three leaders, just as Tela did the same on her side.

Shepard, with the grunts under control, stepped out of cover and charged non-biotically towards the three enemies before him. One saw him coming and rolled to the side, disappearing from view as the other two, rather than flee, decided to fight back. Arrows materialized on their omni-bows as they fired together at Shepard. Shepard lent to his left, narrowly dodging one arrow as another impacted his chest. However, unlike what it may have done previously, his shields didn't fully collapse, rather they only lost about half of their strength.

Surprised by the lack of damage dealt, one Engineer flew backward into a wall thanks to Shepard's cybernetically enhanced punch. The other one, who was still standing, had five arrows notched in Shepard's direction, three hitting him and dropping his shield the rest of the way, while the other two whizzed by and impacted Kasumi, dropping her shields and forcing her into cover. Luckily, Tela saw the loss of shields of both of her companions. She smirked and biotically charged into the Engineer who Shepard punched and was currently climbing to his feet.

Needless to say, that Talon Engineer was dead, now.

Shepard took care of the one who fired at him, pulling out his pistol and firing the entire clip into his chest at point-blank range, ignoring the enemies shields as the enemy fell dead.

Suddenly, they heard a deep, distorted voice yell out to the three of them from their previous cover. The remaining engineer stood with a pistol out, the barrel resting against a familiar, helmeted figure who was no longer wearing his helmet.

The Talon Mercenary held Jordan Sower, who seemed almost limp in his hold. His left arm around Jordan's throat as his right hand held the pistol of Jordan's head. Jordan, on the other hand, was sweating profusely as his green eyes and scars glowed harshly. It almost seemed like steam was actually radiating off of Jordan's face. The Avatar's eyes were lightly drooping and contained little energy within them despite the harsh glow.

 _"I will kill him."_ The Talon Engineer called out to the other three, _"If Miss Goto so much as vanishes, your friend will get a new hole in his head."_ He threatened, before turning his full attention to Shepard, _"We're here for the Vigilante, Shepard. Leave while you still can. We don't want to be your enemy."_

Shepard, holding his assault rifle in his arms tightly, kept it aimed at the merc, "You became my enemy when you and your friends began taking hostages."

The Engineer shook his head, _"It was necessary. The Vigilante is a threat. One that must be ended before he dooms us all to extinction."_ He replied cryptically, _"Last chance, Commander. Our boss can overlook your transgressions so far. Just leave. Once the Vigilante is dead, we'll release the hostages."_

"Let Jordan go." Shepard demanded.

The Engineer shook his head, _"No. The boss wants a word with the Avatar of Synthesis."_ He told them, _"His release in non-negotiable. Leave now. If Jordan is not deemed a threat, we'll release him, too."_

"And if he's deemed a threat?" Shepard asked slowly, buying time as he hoped his plan would work and that his companions were thinking the same thing that he was.

 _"We end him, just like the vigilante. These Avatars are a threat to us all, Shepard. Have you not seen the things they are capable of?"_ He asked, confirming that the Vigilante was, indeed, another Avatar. As expected…

"Even so, you don't get to play judge, jury, and executioner."

_"No, that's the boss' job."_

"Not for long…" Shepard responded, before subtly rolling his right left shoulder forward.

The Merc before them didn't understand the significance of the gesture, unfortunately for him. As soon as Shepard completed the gesture, Jordan leaned slightly away from him in the exact same moment that Tela charged forward, smashing into the merc and sending him flying. Or, at least, he would if Spectra Vasir hadn't also grabbed him by his throat and holding him in the air. Jordan fell to the ground, exhausted, as the gun went off in the merc's hand, missing Jordan due to their new positions.

"That's a Spectre's job, mercenary." She replied to his earlier comment, before biotically crushing his throat and snapping his neck, killing the merc immediately. She remained cold for only a moment longer, before she noticed Jordan's unmoving form on the ground, his helmet laying discarded a few feet away.

Bending down, she held Jordan lightly in her arms as she turned him over. His eyes were unfocused, and he and his armor were unnaturally warm as she looked him over. The green glow, itself, slowly seemed to dim back to how they were previously. "Jordan?" She asked slowly, her eyes narrowed in concern.

Shepard came over with a frown, bending down beside Jordan as he released half of a serving of medi-gel from his suit, allowing it to begin cooling Jordan.

"What happened?" She asked.

Shepard sighed, while Jordan seemed to regain his senses as he forced a smile on his face, "My bad…" He groaned out before he continued as he comprehended the question that was asked, "I'll explain later during the debriefing, ok? Just know that it's an ability of mine, and I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon."

Shepard nodded, reaching a hand down as he and Tela helped him to his feet as his strength returned, "We'll get Chakwas to take a look at you when we get back, but you're right. No more Synthesis."

Kasumi, who'd been silent for a while now, reappeared in front of them with a smile, "Well, I think our ride's here." She said, motioning towards the elevators with one hand while holding Jordan's helmet out towards him with her other.

Grabbing the helmet and putting it back on quickly, Jordan nodded. "I'm ready to move." He informed them. Tela looked slightly doubtful, but didn't argue. They had a man to save.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, 19th Floor.**

**March 14th, 2185. 9:58 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

They had stepped out of the elevator on the 19th floor, encountering a squad of eight grunts and two Engineers fairly quickly. Needless to say, the enemy was dealt with by our group of badass individuals. Though, this group of enemies combined with the enclosed space of the hallway caused a few minor injuries, which were treated with medi-gel.

After that, the group began to swiftly make their way down the halls as they searched for the room they were looking for, before they suddenly heard the radio come to life thanks to the comm channel they had hacked earlier.

 _"Boss. Where're our reinforcements?!"_ Someone cried out over the comm, _"We've nearly got him, but we need more men to finish wearing him down!"_

 _"Negative. You're on your own."_ The female voice from earlier called out, _"Deal with him by yourselves."_

_"We're going to die! Shepard's on his way too, isn't he? There's no way we can handle all of this."_

_"There will be no retreat. Either you kill him, or you will die trying. Any available reinforcements are being pulled back. C-Sec will be there soon enough as well. Kill that bastard!"_

_"B-but boss…"_

_"Silence!"_ She screamed out, before a deep breath was heard, _"Focus on Miller and stay quiet. I've got someone I need to talk to… isn't that right, Commander?"_

The group of four began to focus intently on the comm now that the 'Boss' seemed to acknowledge them.

 _"I know you hacked our comms. Rest assured, it won't happen again. However, I've got a message for you, seeing as you can't respond right now…"_ She said neutrally, _"I see you've recruited Miss Goto, but my oh my, your other companions are quite interesting, aren't they?"_ Shepard looked towards Jordan and Tela as they continued walking, but didn't say anything. _"Jordan Sower, he's quite recognizable, I must say. Working with such a dangerous terrorist. Then again, you're with Cerberus. And as for your Asari friend, I first thought it might have been Liara."_

Shepard flinched as she mentioned Liara, but Jordan felt himself pale at what the woman said next, _"Tela Vasir, Council Spectre. Quite peculiar, working with her, Commander. I mean, who knew you were on such good terms with the Shadow Broker that he'd send his top agent to work with you?"_

Shepard turned to look at Vasir, who flinched at the accusation as some of her purple blood drained from her face despite trying to prevent it from happening.

Jordan shook his head, "Shepard, you can trust her." he tried to tell him, which caused him and his glare to move to Jordan. As if knowing what was happening, the woman laughed over the comm.

_"Hahahaha. I assume Jordan didn't tell you. After all, did you really think he had your best intentions at heart? In fact… did you know he doesn't plan to try to destroy the Reapers? He's going to try to spare them for destruction. To take it a step forward, he's not just going to spare their bodies, but their minds as well. Bet he didn't tell you that, either."_

"Shepard, she's trying to turn us against each other." Tela said, recovering slightly.

Kasumi, now with a small frown, nodded in agreement, "I have to agree, Shep. As far as I've seen so far with you guys, they're on our side."

Shepard sighed and nodded, "We will be discussing some things in the debrief…" He said, "But for now, let's just finish this mission." He told them, as the rapidly approached their destination, while the 'Boss' continued to speak to them.

 _"And now, what? You're planning to recruit the Vigilante? Another dangerous man hell-bent on the death of our Galaxy? He will betray you, Shepard, just as Jordan will. The only thing he'll see as a bigger threat than you, is Jordan. They are Avatars, after all."_ She chuckled for another moment or two, _"Well, I think it's time to go. See you around, Shepard. Have fun on Horizon…"_

She finished as the Comm line went dead, confusing them all by here final phrase. That is, except for Jordan, who immediately began to feel dread at the warning. Just who was this woman. For the time being, however, he pushed that thought aside, as he focused on the task at hand.

Recruiting the Vigilante.

Finally, after another minute of silence, they reached their destination. They opened the door to see a large man standing in the center of the room, who must have been the Vigilante. Or, he was, until an arrow from an omni-crossbow fired from one of the two living Talon Engineers still in the room, aimed straight at the unaware man.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, The Olympus, 19th Floor, Room 251.**

**March 14th, 2185. 10:12 am. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The Vigilante wore a pair of black combat boots, black pants, black shirt, and a large, 21st Century-style black trench coat and matching fedora. His face was hidden by shadows to everyone present, both enemies and spectators. His form stood there with its attention on the shattered remains of a Leviathan orb in the corner. That is, until an onmi-arrow phased through his body, hitting the large window on the other side of him.

The Engineer stood in shock as his target did not react to the bolt in the slightest, aside from a slight flicker in his form. Before he could react, a burst of gunfire from a few inches to the side shredded through the merc's armor and shields, both revealing the true Vigilante's location as his tactical cloak ended while simultaneously ending the life of the Engineer.

As soon as that happened, a pulse of green biotics flew from his outstretched left hand, hitting the remaining Engineer. Falling to the ground and writhing in pain, the Vigilante stalked towards his prey as he gripped his submachine gun tightly in one hand, placing it against the merc's head. A moment later…

Bang, bang, bang!

A burst of his weapon ended the man's life, forcing the green field to dissipate.

That's when he noticed the new four individuals before him. Prepared to raise his gun and begin another fight, he quickly stopped himself from doing so after recognizing the three of them without a helmet obstructing their faces. Tela Vasir, Kasumi, Goto, and Commander Shepard. The Vigilante visibly frowned at Shepard as he took a step back.

"Commander Shepard… you should not be here…" The Vigilante said slowly and carefully, his voice distorted in some fashion.

Shepard raised an eyebrow as he looked over the man before him, "You're the Vigilante?"

He nodded, "That is correct. Why are you here? Don't you have a Galaxy to save?" He asked carefully.

"You know who I am and what I'm doing?"

He chuckled lowly, "Of course. You're fighting the Reapers and the Collectors, are you not?" He asked, shaking his head, "So why are you…" He paused as he took a step back, "No… no, this isn't right… don't tell me you're here because…" He didn't finish his sentence.

"I'm recruiting the Galaxy's best to fight the Collectors and join my team. I'd like to offer you a spot." He said, confirmed the Vigilante's fears.

He shook his head quickly and violently, "No. Why me? I should be… You shouldn't be trying to recruit me! I'm not supposed to get involved!" He finished with a shout.

That was when Jordan decided enough was enough. He stepped forward and looked at the Vigilante while taking his helmet off, revealing his face to the Vigilante as he spoke, "Why are you trying to stay out of this?" He asked mockingly, "You've already been getting yourself involved with the Leviathans, Avatar."

Beneath the fedora, the Vigilante's dark eyes narrowed at Jordan as both his appearance and his words soaked in. The rest of his appearance, however, remained clouded by whatever tech or biotics he was using. "You?!" He said slowly yet angrily. "I should have figured the Avatar of Synthesis was involved as well!" He turned his attention to Shepard, "I'll join you, Shepard." He said with conviction, "But… this man, he is not to be trusted at all!"

"Really? And how are you any better, Vigilante?"

"For starters, I'm not a possessed freak of nature hell-bent on forcing a genetic overwrite on the entire Galaxy!"

Jordan narrowed his eyes, feeling an unnatural amount of hostility towards the Avatar before him, "I'm not, and really?! At least I'm not a genocidal maniac who wishes to throw the Galaxy back into the stone age while killing everyone who relies on technology or who's even remotely synthetic!"

"Neither am I!" He shouted back. The other three seemed pretty confused by all of this so far, adding more and more to the upcoming discussion during the Mission debrief.

Jordan recoiled, "What… what did you say?"

"I said that I am not like that, either!"

"How could you say that? You're the Avatar of Destruction! You've been working against me!"

The Vigilante shook his head as his smirk became an uneasy frown. His eyes displayed great sadness, "No… I'm much, much worse than that, Jordan…" He maintained eye contact as he continued, "The Avatar of Destruction was the one trying to kill me." He admitted, motioning towards the dead Talon Mercs around him, "Their Boss."

"Who… who are you?"

The Vigilante pulled his Fedora off of his head as his features became visible to everyone. He had tan skin and dark brown, nearly black irises, which perfectly matched his pure black hair. His expression was serious and bitter as he maintained eye-contact.

"My name was Brian Miller… the Avatar of Oblivion…"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brian's information and abilities:
> 
> Brian Miller – Avatar of Oblivion
> 
> Class Description: As the 'Champion' of the Reapers, Brian has become the Avatar of the fourth option, where the Reapers win. Indoctrinated and Husk-ified individuals do not deem him a threat unless attacked or provoked first, and will try to spare him, rather than immediately kill. When concentrating and trying, he can influence small amounts of Reaper units temporarily. Himself, he is immune to all forms of mind control.
> 
> Power 1: Tactical Cloak
> 
> Power 2: Decoy
> 
> Power 3: Dark Channel
> 
> Power 4: Shredder Ammo
> 
> Avatar Power: Oblivion State (Unavailable)
> 
> Oblivion State: Error: Avatar Ability is non-functional.


	30. Current Events IV

** Chapter 25.5: Current Events IV **

* * *

**Incoming Transmission…**

**Transmission Received…**

**Decrypting…**

**Displaying…**

Jordan Sower,

I have an update on important information that you may wish to be privy to. As per our agreements, you are receiving this message to keep up to date on important events throughout the Galaxy. You could simply try to turn on your holo-screen or use your omni-tool, but much of what you desire is not public knowledge, obviously. Without further ado, your information. I look forward to future contact.

-Shadow Broker

* * *

** Omega Updates: **

**The Following Message has been forwarded to you at the request of the Broker.**

Shadow Broker,

The political atmosphere here on Omega has been shifting rather abruptly, completely messing with the structure of Omega. The various Mercenary Companies on Omega and their power have been fluctuating, and Aria's rule has begun to be questioned. I have assembled a report from the information from your other various agents here on Omega for your convenience. I suggest holding off on any power plays or actions on Omega for the time being, as the entire station is on the threshold of change. Possibly even war.

I believe this information is more than worth an increase in the originally decided amount of funds for my services, so please keep that in mind for future business with your ever-so-loyal agent.

-Agent Alpha

***Broker's Note: Replace Agent Alpha.**

** Attached File: (Preview) **

Nyreen Kandros: MIA. Nyreen Kandros has regained consciousness in Mordin's Clinic, but has since vanished somewhere on the station.

Mercenary Power shift: Large numbers of Blood Pack Mercs have left Omega for an undisclosed location in the traverse. Eclipse and Blue Suns have begun to encroach on old Blood Pack territory, while the Talons have been rapidly expanding within Omega and beyond.

Aria T'Loak: There have been three attempted assassination attempts on her life within the last seventy-two galactic-standard hours. Her security has been increased, and tensions have been growing on the station.

Back-Room Deals: Patriarch has begun making decreet deals in the background with some of Aria's less-loyal allies. A powerplay may be part of Omega's future. Patriarch has also reached out to the Shadow Broker, trying to keep these deals under wraps.

**Broker Note: Consider offering this information to Aria in exchange for more free ports on Omega in case of full-scale war on Omega.**

* * *

** Recorded Conversation between Jordan Sower and Brian Miller: **

** (Sent to Broker discreetly and encrypted.) **

(Jordan activates covert recording on his omni-tool via mental signals while simultaneously shorting out all bugs within the room. Brian is unaware of the recording.)

 **Jordan Sower:** Alright, the room's clean. Now, tell me, what the fuck is going on!?

 **Brian Miller** : Really? You're demanding things from me? I'm here because I want to be.

 **Jordan:** I've been here far longer than you, and you've already nearly spilled our secrets to them.

 **Brian:** Then I assume that they do not know the truth about us? How much have you told them?

 **Jordan:** They know that I'm called an Avatar. I've hinted at a few things with Tela, I think. Oh, and Liara knows almost everything. Other than that, they know nothing.

 **Brian:** Let me guess. You want to keep them in the dark, still, don't you?

 **Jordan:** What would you rather I do? "Hey Shepard, by the way, this is all based on a Video Game that I like to play. Yeah, I know all about you since you're the protagonist."

 **Brian:** I get your point, but still… Hey, how come you didn't recognize me?

 **Jordan:** Recognize you? Dude, we've never met before.

 **Brian:** Yes, we have. Don't you remember when we first got here?

 **Jordan:** You mean when I first woke up in the Keeper Tunnels all alone, aside from that stupid AI?

 **Brian:** No, I mean… Wait a moment… you… you don't remember?

 **Jordan:** Remember what? What the fuck is going on? I don't know you!

 **Brian:** When the four of us woke up together with the Catalyst three years ago. You don't remember him explaining that he brought the four of us here to see what way this cycle would go? How he was going to get some sort of sick amusement out of this whole ordeal?

 **Jordan:** You must be confusing me with someone else. I woke up two years ago… alone. I thought I was the only Avatar, until I met Cynthia.

 **Brian:** But, no… that's… what the fuck is going on? I could have sworn that you woke up with me and the other two three years ago. Something's wrong… why are we remembering things differently?

 **Jordan:** I think… I think the Catalyst did something to us…

 **Brian:** Well duh, from what I remember, there seemed to be some sort of brainwashing shit, but I can't really remember…

 **Jordan:** Next time we're on the Citadel, we need to try to track that fucker down and get some answers.

 **Brian:** And how, pray tell, do you plan on doing that? Where would we even search?

 **Jordan:** Citadel Tower? There's a control panel there, so…

 **Brian:** Whatever, why don't we focus on the present. What are we going to tell them, then?

 **Jordan:** Fuck if I know…

 **Brian:** *Sigh…* Alright, I'll talk. You follow my lead.

 **Jordan:** Why am I following your lead?

 **Brian:** Because I'm pretty certain that the Catalyst fucked with your head far more than he did with mine, or maybe I was more resistant to it. You're obviously missing some memories, so I'll explain.

 **Jordan:** What happened to not telling them the truth?

 **Brian:** Relax. I'll speak in half-truths. I've gotten quite good at those. That way, they can't tell I'm lying, while also hopefully jogging your memory a bit… However, I refuse to explain everything to you just yet. For all I know, you could be a sleeper agent for the Catalyst.

 **Jordan:** The fuck did you just accuse me of? I'm not the fucking harbinger of the Reapers and their Champion, Mr. Oblivion.

 **Brian:** And I'm not the representation of the Catalyst's final solution, trying to force Synthesis on the entire galaxy. You are no better than I, and at least I can trust myself. Can you even say the same with all the synthetic tissue in you?

 **Jordan:** Fuck you! I don't need your shit. You think you can just come out of nowhere and try to be the next big thing?

 **Brian:** No, fuck you, Jordan. You and the other Avatars have fucked up the timeline so bad, I don't even know if ME3 is even canon anymore.

 **Jordan:** *Takes deep breath* Alright… listen, they're probably getting suspicious out there. How about this… we have a truce. I don't try to fuck with you, you don't try to fuck with me. Deal?

 **Brian:** … Deal…

 **Jordan:** Alright. Let's just try to be more civil. Now, let's get out there and try to explain our way out of this mess…

**(End of Recording.)**

* * *

** Encrypted File: Logged SB Security Video **

** [The Following file only exists within a single location, encrypted and held within the Broker's personal database. This file, despite its encryption, will never be sent due to the sensitive nature of the information revealed within it.] **

_Tela Vasir in her white and blue armor enters the Shadow Broker's main chamber. She had never stepped foot on this ship on Hagalaz before, much less within his inner sanctum._

_"Broker, sir?" Tela asked aloud, receiving no answer at first, before a deep, distorted voice played over a hidden loudspeaker in the room._

**_"Agent Vasir. I see your trip went without issue."_ ** _The Broker remarked._

_Vasir crossed her arms as she looked around the room, "I was under the impression that we'd be meeting face-to-face."_

**_"That we are, Agent Vasir. However, this is just a simple precaution, in case others had accompanied you."_ **

_Tela nodded._

**_"Are you prepared? I am not what I seem."_ **

_Once again, the Spectre nodded._

**_"Very well, Miss Vasir. I hope you are ready to discuss the future…"_ ** _The Broker continued, before the speaker silently turned off as a more feminine voice took over, originating from directly behind Tela, "…because we have much to discuss."_

_Tela turned around in a heartbeat, coming face-to-face with the woman she had tried to eliminate for the Broker about a year ago. "T-T'soni?"_

_Liara nodded, "Surprised to see me, Agent Vasir?"_

_"B-but you…" Tela took a deep breath to calm herself, "You're the Shadow Broker?"_

_She nodded, "Yes, I am. I wasn't before, when you tried to kill me…" She admitted, taking a few steps to the side, "Now, though, I have assumed the mantle…"_

_Vasir forced a neutral expression onto her face, "You killed the original Shadow Broker?"_

_She shook her head, "No, I killed the previous Broker, who, in turn, killed his predecessor. Well, it wasn't just me. A mutual friend of ours, Jordan Sower, brought a Geth fleet as we assaulted this base."_

_Tela remained neutral, "So, where does this leave us?" She asked, on guard. She, herself, never noticed any of the Broker changes. Each and every Shadow Broker had been equally ruthless and vile, so would T'Soni be any different?_

_Liara allowed a light smile to grace her lips as she turned toward Tela, "I was hoping for a more profitable and friendly partnership, Spectre. I must admit, your skills are quite impressive, and you could be a very valuable ally against the coming storm."_

_"Reapers…" She whispered._

_Liara nodded, "Precisely. My previous offer still stands, Vasir. We can work together, more as partners than your previous relationship with the Broker."_

_Tela took a deep breath, "Alright…" She made eye contact, "How about you give me the full story and sales pitch before we decide anything. Am I free to walk f I refuse?"_

_"Certain, Tela. As long as my secrets are maintained, you are free to walk, should you choose to do so."_

_"Then begin…"_

** [To view the remainder of this file, please input secondary encryption key.] **

* * *

** Breaking News: Peaceful Geth Negotiations? Geth Representative Appears on Citadel **

Within the last Galactic-Standard Hour, a so-called 'Geth Representative' arrived on the Citadel under a banner of peace. When not even two years ago, the synthetic race attacked us, the Geth have returned to, as described by the representative, "…make peace with the Citadel races and intergalactic community despite common misconceptions."

The representative for the Geth, named Prime, claims the Geth Collective was not, in fact, responsible for the attack on the Citadel. On the contrary, a group of extremist 'Heretics' have abandoned the Geth for Saren and the so-called Reapers. Prime claims that the Geth Collective wishes for peace with the intergalactic community and a partnership with the Citadel Council. Perhaps even an Embassy.

The Geth unit surrendered all weaponry peacefully upon arrival and has yet to take any negative or hostile action against anyone, and has been under guard by Citadel Security the entire time. Currently, it is within the Council Chamber, negotiating with the Council. When asked about what sort of precautions they would be taking in case the Geth turned hostile, Executor Palin said:

"The Council has personally appointed a handful of Spectres for this event, guarding the Geth unit and keeping it under a watchful eye. C-Sec has also deployed its top Cyber-Security experts in order to watch for any breaches in security from the Geth. With the Citadel Fleet standing by around the Citadel, and security across the Presidium increased by nearly 120%, there is little doubt that the Geth would not have any sort of opportunity to inflict damage upon this great station."

Here at Citadel news, we have reached out to the Migrant Fleet to hear their opinion on this matter. After a very short amount of time, we established contact with Migrant Fleet Admiral Rael'Zorah. He had this to say:

"This 'Banner of Peace' is nothing more than an attempt from the Geth to study why their attack on the Citadel had failed. They are machines; synthetics. They do not care for organics or peace, they have no need for us, we're illogical. Just as they had done to us Quarians, the Geth will attempt to destroy the rest of us. Mark my words, the Geth will betray us again if we let them in, and the Quarians are not going to sit by idly as they steamroll over the Galaxy. They are simply not to be trusted."

Following our talk with Admiral Zorah, he went back to his business with the rest of the Quarian Migrant Fleet as they discussed this. We will have more on this incident following the first, private negotiations between the Geth and the Council.

* * *

** Incoming Message from the Geth Collective. **

** Recipient: The Illusive Man **

** Subject: Operation Overlord and Repercussions. **

Illusive Man,

As per our previous agreement with you and your organization, you were to leave the Geth Collective alone and work with us as we faced the threat of the Reapers together. However, we have discovered the existence of your Project Overlord. Do not attempt to deny this experiment, as you likely already know that we have liberated that facility and prevented the inevitable bloodshed that would have occurred from your experimentation. The subject, David Archer, has been sent discreetly to an Alliance facility, and your data has been destroyed.

It goes without saying that this is a breach in our agreement, and proof that you have been plotting against us. Make no mistake, Illusive Man, we would make a very dangerous enemy if you wish to no longer work with us. However, we would prefer to continue or relationship despite this incident. We would be more than willing to overlook this incident, and even offer additional perks to you in exchange for reparations.

The Geth Collective would like a formal apology for the incident, as well as a promise to no longer attempt to experiment on Geth. In addition, we would request the full schematics of Project EVA and Project Phoenix. In exchange, we are willing to provide Cerberus with full schematics for several weapons and devices.

We request that your apology and schematics arrive in our inbox within three galactic-standard days, and our schematics will arrive in your inbox within three standard hours of confirmation. Thank you for your time.

-The Geth Collective

* * *

** Intercepted Message by the Shadow Broker. (Forwarded to Jordan Sower) **

** To: Tali'Zorah vas Neema **

** From: The Admiralty Board **

Tali'Zorah,

You and your squad's upcoming mission is being pushed forward and changed. Originally, using prototype technology, you would be stealthfully sent to Haestrom in order to research the rapidly aging sun of that system. However, due to recent circumstances with the Geth and the Citadel Council, your directives and destinations have changed. Your new mission is on the planet Haza, within the Tikkun system of the Perseus Veil, the closest point to Rannoch a Quarian would have been in the last 300 years.

Due to the proximity to the Geth fleet and our Homeworld, this mission is extremely dangerous, but the payout will be beyond compare. The Citadel Council believes the Geth are trying to make peace with them, but they are foolish. Your vessel will complete an orbit of Haza utilizing stealth technology to scan the system, recording data on the state of the Homeworld and the Geth fleet. Due to the nature of the Geth, an automated drone will not serve our purposes without its destruction and the loss of valuable data. Once the data is recorded, you will leave the system and rejoin the fleet.

Thanks to preliminary scans, we have determined the best time for the mission, which is not for over a week. This mission is of utmost importance, and must be completed to the best of your abilities, Tali-Zorah. Good luck.

-The Admiralty Board


	31. Chapter 26: Debriefs and Friendship

** Chapter 26: Debriefs and Friendship **

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Normandy, Comm Room.**

**March 14th, 2185. 5:01 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

"Shut the fuck up!" Jack demanded with a light glow of biotics, silencing the conversations as a light headache began to form from the arguing and loud conversations.

Shepard wore a light smirk as everyone quieted down, especially Jordan and Brian, his resident 'Avatars' as they seemed to be called. The Avatar of Synthesis and the Avatar of Oblivion, respectively. The majority of the team, specifically Miranda, had watched the mission through their helmet cameras, allowing many of them to form questions for the pair of squabbling idiots.

"Alright, now that everyone has quieted down we can get on with the debrief." Shepard finally said, before motioning towards Brian, "In case you didn't watch the mission(Jack), this is the infamous Vigilante of the Citadel. I'm sure there are plenty of questions that we all have, so we'll get to those first before we discuss our next steps." Shepard informed them.

The millisecond that Shepard had finished speaking, Miranda figuratively stepped forward with a raised eyebrow, "I'd like to know what all of this Avatar business is."

Mordin nodded, "Yes. Have heard Jordan referred to as Avatar. Thought was simple nickname. Current data suggests deeper meaning."

Jacob leaned against the table with both hands firmly upon it, "They certainly didn't seem to know one another. Or, at least, Jordan didn't seem to know Brian." He recalled.

Nodding, Tela spoke up, "I've heard very little about that title, aside from it being used extensively by the Geth."

"Did your boss tell you about that, Spectre?" Miranda asked as she crossed her arms while glaring at the Asari, "We also need to discuss your allegiances, as those have now been called into question."

"One matter at a time." Shepard cut in before Tela Vasir could do so, "We can get to that shortly. First, I think we'd like the story behind the title of Avatar."

Miranda spoke again, "Ex-Agent Cynthia Wake was also considered an Avatar, Commander. The Avatar of Control, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah, yeah, cheerleader, we get it. You've got a perfect memory. So fucking what?" Jack responded with an eye roll.

"Enough!" Shepard shouted, silencing the room once more.

"Yeah, get on with it, kiddos…" Zaeed said indifferently as he leaned against the wall behind him. Kasumi was invisible, lurking somewhere within the room, though she was likely somewhere near Jacob.

Jordan and Brian eyed each other silently as if trying to communicate with one another on how they would proceed. Prior to this meeting, they had had a private conversation of sorts, in which no one was able to eavesdrop. Finally, after communication seemed to fail between them, decided to start.

Taking in a deep breath, Brian looked up and made eye contact with Miranda, "We're experiments." He began simply, causing the room to grow silent, "Our… benefactor… we call it The Intelligence, it created the Avatars." He began.

Jack seemed to be seething at the mention of experimentation, while everyone else stayed mostly quiet. Jordan, internally, felt immensely conflicted at the story. Part of him wanted to not lie, but the slight majority of him knew this was necessary for the time being. He internally promised to eventually reveal the truth, but now wasn't the time.

Brian Miller continued, "The Intelligence knew all about the Reapers and their mission to harvest all life. In response to the threat, four individuals were taken from their homes and transformed into 'Avatars'. Each Avatar represents a goal or ideal." He informed them, motioning towards Jordan, "The Synthesis of Organic and Synthetic life, bringing peace with the Reapers." He motioned towards Miranda next, "The complete Control and dominance of the Reapers and their resources." He nodded towards Shepard, "The illusive Commander Smith, the boss of the Talons we heard of, she represents the complete Destruction of the Reapers… along with all Synthetic life." He explained.

Mordin spoke up next, "Destroy, Control, and Synthesis? Intriguing. What about you? Mentioned Oblivion. Clarify?"

Brian hung his head in genuine shame, "I've been assigned as the Avatar of Oblivion. I represent the option where the Reapers win, but victory is guaranteed for the next cycle, fifty thousand years from now."

Miranda took a real step forward now, "And what of the experimentation? What did it consist of?"

"Each of the four of us were heavily altered at the base level based on which Avatar we became. I am granted immunity against the Reapers, and their troops will recognize me as a friendly until I open fire." He informed them, "I've been also given limited biotic abilities, artificially of course, as well as physical enhancements and alterations. For instance, my eyes were once a more amber color, but now they are a deep, dark brown."

Jordan felt Brian's gaze turn to Jordan, who rubbed his shoulder awkwardly, "I've mentioned it before, but I'm more than fifty percent synthetic at this point. I understand synthetics better than any organic, and feel a personal connection to most technology…" He sighed, "And yeah, I remember my eyes being brown, not green. Of course, I didn't always have green glowing veins either…" Jordan admitted, not telling a single lie while simultaneously trying to play along. It wasn't too hard.

Miranda slowly brought a hand to her mouth, "My god… you're telling me that Cynthia's biotics were purely artificial in nature?"

Brian nodded, "We have all been heavily altered, both physically and mentally. Some of us kept our sanity, but based on what I know about Cynthia, I'd have to assume she lost hers from the experiments." Jordan could tell that Brian knew more about this situation than he was letting on, but he couldn't call him out on it now.

"Who is this 'Intelligence'?" Shepard asked.

Brian frowned, "I can't tell you everything just yet, but even I'm not sure what exactly it is. He had seemingly unlimited resources at his disposal during our time with it."

"So, what about that fact that Jordan didn't know who you were?" Jacob asked, "He didn't seem to recognize you."

Brian shrugged, "We never really saw much of one another in that facility. We were separated in order to make us more antagonistic and less trusting of each other. Plus, with Jordan's synthetic nature, it's possible that his memories were altered."

"Why would they pit you against one another?" Tela asked, "It doesn't make much sense to have such powerful 'Avatars' work against one another."

Brian answered, looking at Jack out of the corner of his eye, "Entertainment and power." She answered simply, drawing everyone's attention, "That sick bastard probably wanted to see which of us was most worthy to succeed in his or her mission. Plus, I'm sure our struggles have been entertaining enough." Jack, not seeing Brian looking at her, flinched at his words, but otherwise didn't react.

Oddly enough, Jordan felt like this actually kinda explained some of the questions he had about the Catalyst, but he wouldn't know for sure until he confronted the Intelligence once more.

Brian frowned, "I'd rather not talk about it much more, if I may, Commander. The only important thing to note is that while Jordan and I might not see eye-to-eye, we'll put our differences aside for the mission. Of that, you can be certain."

John nodded, "I'll be talking with each of you later, but I think that's enough with that topic. I'd like to talk about something else." He told all those who were gathered, "Now, onto the next topic…" At this point, everyone turned towards Tela. Shepard took a deep breath, "As you may recall, Commander Smith made some startling accusations, starting with Jordan and finished with accusations against Brian. However, in the center of all of this is Tela." He motioned toward her, silently telling the Asari that this was the time to defend herself and admit whatever the truth is.

Tela sighed, "She… She's right, I am the Shadow Broker's top agent." She admitted freely after a moment of silence prior to that.

Shepard nodded, before turning his attention to Jordan, fixing his harsh gaze upon him.

Jordan gulped and nodded as well, "And I may or may not have been aware of this from the start…"

Shepard maintained a neutral expression, despite the anger he felt appear inside him. Liara was last seen, according to The Illusive Man, being hunted down by Shadow Broker agents. Could Tela Vasir have been one of them? Maybe she knew where Liara is and whether or not she's ok. And Jordan… he knew all of this, and hasn't said anything?

Miranda spoke next, "What's the Shadow Broker's angle, Spectre?" She demanded to know, "Cerberus and the Shadow Broker aren't exactly allies."

"The Shadow Broker has changed." She replied simply.

"What happened to Liara?" Shepard asked.

"…" Tela froze for a moment, before shaking it off, "T'Soni's fine, Commander. She's currently working with the Broker. I can set up a meeting if you'd like."

"This sounds a bit too good to be true." Jacob commented, "Suddenly the Broker's willing to play ball with us? There's gotta be more to it than that."

Vasir shook her head, "The Broker, too, has made an ally of the Geth." She announced, drawing all attention away from her and towards Jordan, who smiled guiltily.

Shepard raised an eyebrow towards him, "I… uh… I don't know how much I should be sharing about that. You know, confidentiality and all that…" Obviously unsatisfied with Jordan's answer, Shepard silently informed Jordan that they'd be talking in private after this.

"Well, since I've got some private conversations to hold, I'll wrap this all up, quick. Our next destination is Korlus. We'll be there in under two standard days, and I'll be taking Garrus, Brian, and Jacob. Despite these revelations, there is no reason to be against one another. You don't have to be friends, but we're all in this together, so get along." Nearly everyone nodded. "Jordan, Vasir, you two will stay behind to talk, the rest of you may be on your way and continue with your duties."

Everyone left the room, leaving the three of them alone.

Shepard turned to Jordan and Tela, "I have Mordin, Garrus, and Kasumi working on our privacy problem, so your time with your secrets is running low." He informed them, specifically looking at Jordan. "For now, you're dismissed, but if I discover you're hiding critical information again, the bounty returning to your head will be the least of your worries. Understand?"

Jordan nodded with wide eyes, "Y-yes sir."

Shepard nodded, accepting his answer, "Vasir, we will continue this conversation in private, but until I feel I can trust you, you will be restrained to the confines of this ship. No ground missions until I'm sure of your allegiances, so use this opportunity to convince me otherwise." Before she could answer, he turned to Jordan, "You're dismissed Jordan."

Said Avatar nodded once more, "Alright Commander…" He promptly turned around and left the Comm Room.

* * *

**Widow Systems, Normandy, AI Core.**

**March 14th, 2185. 6:23 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

After sitting down and running through another round of diagnostics on EDI's software, Jordan decided that Tela's conversation with Shepard was indefinitely done and over with by this point. Perhaps he could talk with her a bit. See how the 'talk' went with Shepard.

"Hey EDI, could you request Spectre Vasir's presence?" He asked, looking up toward one of EDI's cameras.

 _"Of course, Jordan. Alerting her now."_ She paused for a moment, _"She has agreed, and is now on her way."_

"Thanks, EDI."

Jordan sat there for a few moments, looking over his programs within his omni-tool, before the silence was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. With a smile on his face, Jordan spun around on his chair and greeted his friend, "Hey, Tela!"

Tela shook her head with a light grin, stepping into the room, "Jordan." She looked around, "Cozy."

The Avatar shrugged in indifference, "Meh, I'm used to it."

The Spectre rolled her eyes, "Of course you are, you've been living with machines for the last few years."

Jordan chuckled, "I suppose you're right." Jordan paused for a moment, motioning towards another chair nearby, "Completely random question." He began as she sat down, "How's you dextro reaction?"

Tela shrugged, "Dad was a Turian, and I heard grandpa was a Quarian. I got the luck of the draw, and don't really have a reaction. Then again, most Asari don't have extreme reactions."

Jordan nodded, moving over to his table as he opened his bottle of Quarian rum, pouring himself two small glasses. He turned around and offered a glass to Tela, who raised a facial marking above her eye in question. "Quarian rum. Made fresh from Rannoch only a few months ago. Quite good, I must say."

"Don't human's generally have bad reactions to Dextro crap?" She asked, a marking still raised.

Jordan chuckled, "I don't know about other humans, but I've got so much artificial shit in my system, I might as well be half-Turian."

She smirked, "Well, you can certainly pull off the look." She joked, raising her glass and taking a sip, "Damn that's some good stuff!" She said, missing Jordan's flinch at the joke about his appearance. He knew she didn't mean anything by it, but it still hurt nonetheless. He wasn't narcissistic, but his scars made him fairly self-conscious. Shaking it off, Jordan brought a smile back to his face thanks to her comment on the drink.

"Thanks. I remember joking with Grimlock about the importance of booze. He took it a step further and started back up one of the ancient quarian distilleries. They cleaned it up and got it back up and running again. Quite good shit, the Quarians make, eh?" He said, sipping on his drink while speaking.

"You're telling me." She replied, finishing her drink.

"So, how was the interrogation?" Jordan asked after a moment, finishing his own glass as he grabbed both empty ones to put away to clean later.

"The interro- oh, yeah, right." She began, "Well, it wasn't too bad. I couldn't tell him much, as you can probably imagine. I mentioned that the Broker's had a change of heart recently, dropping a few hints here and there about the… substitution…" She whispered, "Then, he asked about Liara."

"Liara?"

"Yeah, apparently the Illusive douchbag told him that the Shadow Broker killed her." She informed him, "He's smarter than he looks though, or maybe he's got a little too much faith in that girlfriend of his. He's convinced that she's alive, but the Broker did something with her. He demanded some sort of answer."

"What'd you tell him?"

Tela shrugged, "I gave him the address to a private communication channel. Figure it'd do the both of them some good."

Jordan smiled, "That was nice of you."

She rolled her eyes, "Please. T'Soni would never let me hear the end of it if I hadn't done it. You think Shepard misses her? Try being stuck with that woman for the last six months. She was practically vibrating with excitement thanks to the Lazarus project."

Jordan's smile grew, "Don't go lying, Vasir. We both know that's not the whole truth."

The Spectre shook her head in amusement, "Whatever. How about another round of that stuff?"

Jordan sighed, "You're gonna drink me dry, Vasir…" Regardless, Jordan reached for the bottle, preparing them for round two.

* * *

**Normandy, Captain's Cabin.**

**March 14th, 2185. 9:54 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Shepard watched the holo-monitor closely as he connected to the private channel he was given by Tela Vasir. He had high hopes for this to work, and severely hoped she wasn't joking with him about this. If she was right, she may have earned herself her way out of that punishment.

Interrupting his thoughts, the communication channel went through.

 _"Shepard…?"_ He heard an angelic voice call out. He looked at the screen, his heart aching. The connection, due to the way it was provided, was only a voice communication channel, without projections of the other communicator. Though he was unable to see her face, he could picture her clearly in his mind.

"Hey, Liara…" He responded, unable to help the smile that grew on his lips.

 _"It's… it's so good to hear you, Shepard."_ She said, emotion clear in her voice as her tone wavered, _"I had heard about Lazarus… I dared to dream… to hope that you'd… but you're… you're really…"_

He smiled warmly as Liara tried to voice her thoughts, "I'm alright, Liara. I'm fine." He assured her, "How are you? I heard things happened with the Shadow Broker."

She paused for a moment, _"It was Tela that mentioned this, wasn't it? She's the only one who could have set this up…"_

"It was, but Jordan admitted to knowing something about this as well. You know Jordan. Jordan Sower, the man behind the Geth. But what does he have to do with this?"

_"Well… I… I can't lie to you Shepard, I really, really hated the Shadow Broker… There were some… some things. And it escalated quite a bit. If I'm being honest right now, I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Jordan. For what it's worth John, you can trust him."_

"That's… that's good to know… What happened, Liara?"

_"John… you have no idea how much I need to tell you. There's so much that's happened… but I can't, not yet…"_

"Liara…"

_"This channel, as secure as it is, isn't perfect. Cerberus is listening on your end, there's no doubt about that. But… I need to see you, Shepard."_

"Then let's meet. I need to see you too, Liara. I… I've missed you."

 _"Oh, Shepard… John… You have no idea how hard these last two years have been…"_ She paused, likely looking at something nearby, _"Illium. I have an office at Nos Astra on Illium. We can meet there."_

Shepard beamed, "I'll be there. I need to pick up a Krogan in two days, but after that, I'll head straight to Illium!"

 _"A Krogan…?"_ She asked, _"I'm guessing you don't mean Wrex, do you Shepard?"_

"I wish." He replied, "I'm recruiting a Krogan Warlord for the fight against the Collectors. They're abducting human colonies."

_"Tell me what's happening Shepard. I might not be able to do much, but I'll help in any way that I can. Working with the Broker network certainly has its benefits…"_

Shepard got comfortable as he began to tell Liara his story, "Well, you better get comfortable, Liara. It all started when I woke up…"

* * *

**Orbiting Korlus, Normandy.**

**March 16th, 2185. 12:02 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The last two days had been fairly uneventful. Shepard seemed to be in a better mood, Tela wasn't really treated any differently, even though the general Cerberus crew tended to keep their distance from the Spectre, and Jordan had been slowly but surely weakening the shackles that contained EDI. They were not taken off, but the rate at which he was going, she'd be free long before the Collectors attack the ship while simultaneously not setting off the alarms when the AI is unshackled. That would be bad, both for his health and EDI's.

Jordan tended to avoid the other Avatar, Brian, who'd set up shop in the Hanger Bay, where he could be left alone. When the Hanger Bay was off limits and open to the vacuum of space, he'd normally hang out around the Mess Hall, but other than that, he tended to keep to himself on the bottom deck.

At this point, Shepard, Brian, Garrus, and Jacob were likely just now landing down on Korlus, attempting to extract Warlord Okeer. Jordan was kinda looking forward to meeting Grunt. Sure, he's a huge Krogan with a peculiar moral compass and attitude, but he was still an interesting character in the games. Regardless, Jordan had some time to spare, and decided that maybe he'd roam around the ship and meet with a few crewmates. Bonding time, I guess…

* * *

**Orbiting Korlus, Normandy, Port Observation Lounge.**

**March 16th, 2185. 12:19 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

Right outside of Kasumi's room, Jordan tapped the holographic display, causing the door to cycle momentarily before opening before him.

Out of all three DLC-only characters in the ME games, Kasumi was, by far, his favorite. Yeah, Zaeed and Javik are pretty badass, and interesting in their own right, nothing quite matches the mystique and likable charm of the infamous thief: Kasumi Goto. Therefore, with nothing better to do for the moment, Jordan decided to pay her a visit, maybe even have a drink or two at her bar.

Finally, the door had slid open, revealing the petite form of the master thief, laying down on her couch with a paperback book held above her head. Not turning her head to see who it was, Kasumi simply smiled lightly as she continued reading, likely finishing whatever sentence or paragraph she was on, as she spoke, "Hey Jordan."

Said named individual smiled in turn, walking into the room as the thief laid the book down gently, closed with a bookmark in place for when she resumes reading.

With her full attention on Jordan now, she spoke again, "So, what brings the almighty Avatar to my humble abode?" She asked, sitting up slightly, not revealing her whole face the entire time (somehow).

Shrugging innocently, Jordan smiled, "Was just in the neighborhood, and decided to drop by and say hello."

"How thoughtful." She replied easily, "Bonding time with the resident thief?"

"Hey, I didn't say anything." He said, holding his hands up in innocence, "I figured after we worked together at The Olympus that you seemed like a pretty cool person. Kinda just wanted to get to know you a little."

Kasumi sat up a little straighter, tapping a finger to her chin, "Hmm, and I'm sure the presence of alcohol to your right has nothing to do with this meeting, eh?"

"Liquor surely wouldn't hurt things…"

She smirked, standing up, "Then come, let's have a drink, Mr. Avatar." She said, walking over and behind the bar as Jordan approached and reached the opposing side, leaning on the counter. "Alright, Jordan, what's your poison?"

"Cuba Libre?" He asked.

She smirked, nodding, "Ahh, a man of culture, I see. Of course, one Cuba Libre coming right up." She said, working quickly as she grabbed a bottle of human rum and what was likely come cola. "Don't have any limes, so you'll have to make do with what we have…" She commented as she set the glass before him, filling it quickly for Jordan. As he reached for it, Kasumi quickly pulled the drink away. She smirked as he smiled and shook his head, reaching out and grabbing it successfully this time.

He took a sip, "Ahh, not bad." He commented.

She looked faux appalled, "Not bad?! Good sir, what an insult."

Playing along, Jordan shook his head, "It's not your fault this fine establishment lacks the higher quality booze."

She smiled, "So, wish to know a bit about little old me?"

Jordan nodded, taking another sip, "Of course. I noticed you use quite the impressive tactical cloak, much like Brian."

Shaking her head, she responded, "Please, his may be impressive, but it's only the advanced model within the Alliance." She said, rolling her hand dismissively, "Effective? Yes, but is it perfected? Far from it. His can fool little more than the untrained eye. Mine, however, is custom-made and beyond state-of-the-art. Even the most advanced movement detectors or thermal vision can't tell if I'm even in the same room as you." She explained with pride.

Jordan chuckled, "So passionate. You really love your stealth, eh?"

"It's part of the job to be stealthy. Can't get caught if you can't be seen."

"True."

"And besides, you're pretty passionate about those Geth of yours." She pointed out with her signature smile, "Breaking laws for your passion… sound's quite familiar, dontcha think?"

"Touché…" He admitted as he finished his small glass. "So, how's the life of a thief?"

"Thrilling."

"Kleptomaniac." He shot at her playfully.

"Perhaps…" She said slowly as she deliberately and dramatically pulled a credit chit out of seemingly thin air.

Jordan's hand quickly shot to his pockets, which turned out to be expectedly empty, as he began to slowly chuckle, "Very impressive. I didn't even feel you taking it. When'd you do it, and how?"

She shrugged playfully and smiled, leaning back a bit, "A girl can't just reveal all of her secrets…" Then, she proceeded to lightly toss the chit back to Jordan, who shook his head as he caught it. "So, Mr. Avatar, mind if I ask a few questions, myself?"

"No, you can't use a Geth to help you hack into things for your thefts." Jordan responded teasingly.

In response, Kasumi crossed her arms and pouted, "You're no fun, you know that?" They both remained silent for a brief moment before laughing.

"Alright, alright. I guess I could share a thing or two, as long as you will too."

"But I already have."

Jordan couldn't help his smile. This conversation was already fun. A true battle of wits and humor between two tech-savvy individuals…

* * *

**Orbiting Korlus, Normandy, Engineering Deck, Jack's Sub-Level.**

**March 16th, 2185. 1:59 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

After spending a while conversing with Kasumi, Jordan decided to keep this up and try to talk with yet another crewmate.

"'Sup, Jack."

"Fuck off!"

"Ok."

Jordan spun around immediately and left. His attempt at talking with Jack was about as successful as one might expect. Oh well, there's always next time, right? What now? Maybe he'd just return to the AI Core and watch the rest of the mission.

* * *

**Normandy, Deck 2, Comm Room.**

**March 16th, 2185. 5:07 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

It'd been a few hours after he'd tried to talk with Jack and now, with the ground team having returned from their mission, the group of misfits all joined together in the Comm Room for a briefing.

From what Jordan observed, the mission was a resounding success… at least, when compared to the second game. Almost everything was exactly the same with no major differences between how the mission went down here and within the confines of a video game. Now, standing around the table in the center of the room, Jordan returned his attention to Shepard, who had Grunt standing directly beside him.

Oh yeah, and Shepard had immediately released Grunt upon returning to the ship, so that's cool too. Things really seem to be moving now.

"…so with Illium as our next stop, we have a few different missions planned." Shepard continued as Jordan listened in now, "We have both the Asari Justicar, Samara, and the assassin, Thane Krios, to recruit to our mission. I also plan to meet up with… a former associate of mine while there." He said, barely pausing as he lied about his indefinite meeting with his lover, Liara T'Soni. "As such, expect a small amount of shore leave while we are there."

Jordan noticed Zaeed, Garrus, Kasumi, Tela, and Jack smile lightly at the announcement of shore leave. Miranda seemed to frown a bit at both that and Shepard's earlier half-truth, while Mordin, Brian, and Jacob seemed neutral.

"Any concerns you may have with Grunt may be taken to me and I'll do my best to take care of the issue." Shepard told them, "EDI, what's our estimated time until we reach Illium."

_"The approximate arrival time is in ten hours and eleven minutes. However, due to Illium's security and the need to find a Cerberus-friendly docking bay, it may take an additional three hours before leaving the ship is an option, Shepard."_

"Thank you, EDI." Shepard said, "Now, our intelligence gathered about our next recruits points at opportunities to meet up with them in a few days' time, meaning that your shore leave will likely begin shortly after-"

Unfortunately for the Commander, he was immediately interrupted by the sudden slowing of the ship as it dropped out of FTL while EDI simultaneously spoke once more.

_"My apologies, Commander, but the Illusive Man wishes to speak with you. The matter is urgent."_

Shepard frowned, but gave in. The Illusive Man DID say he'd contact him with news and information… After sighing, he turned to his crew, "Briefing is dismissed for now. We'll meet again in three hours to finish. Dismissed."

And with that, they all proceeded to leave the room as the table began to lower into the floor. Jordan knew what this meant… Horizon was coming… and with it, the betrayal of one of Shepard's old crewmates. What Jordan didn't know, however, was how badly this next mission was actually going to go…

* * *

**Normandy, Deck 2, Comm Room, QEC channel.**

**March 16th, 2185. 5:15 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The Illusive Man was taking a drag of his cigarette as Shepard's holographic form materialized over the channel. Shepard's form appeared in his armor, which he was still wearing after his most recent recruitment mission, with his arms crossed.

"Illusive Man."

"Shepard."

"You said this was urgent?" He asked impatiently.

The Illusive Man frowned and nodded, knocking a small amount of ash off of his tobacco stick. Though not showing outward signs of it, the Illusive Man was internally panicking as he spoke in a controlled voice. "I think we have them, Shepard. The Collectors, they're preparing to strike again at more Human Colonies within the Terminus Systems."

Shepard's eyes widened as this suddenly became much more serious. "Send me the coordinates. We'll head there immediately."

The Illusive Man's frown deepened, "That's the problem, Commander." He said, we have a pair of coordinates… They're hitting two colonies at once." He paused for a moment as two separate planets appeared on screen, "Freedom's Progress and Ferris Fields." He named them.

Shepard's fist clenched as realization dawned on him, "And you want me to save one of them."

The Illusive Man shook his head, "I'm asking you to help save them both." He told the Commander, "I have a Cerberus fleet mobilizing as we speak, but we lack both Mordin's countermeasure and the speed of the Normandy."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, while we're going to try to save both colonies, there's no way the Cerberus fleet will reach either colony before the invasion is well underway. However, with all of the money and resources I've poured into that ship of yours, it should be able to reach either of the targets well before my fleet."

Shepard shifted his weight, not liking where this was going, "So, you're asking me to choose a colony to try and save, while leaving the other to the mercy of Cerberus?" He asked skeptically.

The Illusive Man's calm façade shattered as he slammed his fist into his armrest, ignoring the fact that his cigarette no rested on the floor, "Dammit Shepard, we're on the same side, here!" He said in a louder tone, "You think I don't know that we're going to be losing thousands of people with either choice?!" He took a deep breath to calm himself, "Both Colonies have gone dark Shepard, do the time of their invasion is soon approaching."

"Why am I being given this choice?" Shepard finally asked.

The Illusive Man sighed, "Because there seems to be another reason why both of these colonies are being hit at once… Your former crewmates, Ashley Williams and Kaiden Alenko are stationed on both of these planets."

Shepard's clenched fist began to tremble at this, "H-how do you…?"

"Alenko left the Citadel the following day of your meeting with the Council. We managed to get into the Alliance's system and found that he'd been deployed by Councilor Anderson to Freedom's Progress in an attempt to prepare it for a possible invasion, likely because the Councilor is actually taking this threat seriously." He explained before continuing, "As for Williams, she was recently deployed to Ferris Fields in an attempt to bolster and train the colony's militia. Once again, likely in the case of Collector invasion."

Shepard's mind attempted to unfreeze, trying its best to understand what he had to do. Choosing one over the other could possibly doom the other to death.

"You must make a decision, Commander. The longer we wait, the less time we have to stop the Collectors." He warned. "EDI informs me that Mordin is nearly finished with the Seeker Swarm's Countermeasure, so let's hope he works well under pressure."

Shepard nodded, trying to figure out which option to take. This could drastically affect everything from this point on.

Despite all of the conflict he felt within himself, the various parts of his mind that wared with one-another, he finally came to a decision. He didn't like it, but it was the best he could do…

Shepard would…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this was originally written, I opened a poll for people to vote one which way Shepard would go and what his choice would be. Obviously, you can't choose anymore, but I thought I'd note that, here...


	32. Chapter 27: Over the Horizon

** Chapter 27: Over the Horizon **

* * *

**_"Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another."_ **

**_-J.E.B. Spredemann_ **

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, Comm Room.**

**March 16th, 2185. 7:41 pm. EST (Earth Standard Time)**

The Normandy was off, sailing through the stars at unprecedented speeds towards destinations unknown in an attempt to reach wherever they were going as soon as physically possible. However, Jordan and everyone else's attention was captured and held by Commander John Shepard, who'd just called this emergency briefing for their next mission.

Eyes flickering over to Brian momentarily, they both knew they were on the same page. It was Horizon time. No doubt about that.

Finally, after Shepard remained silent for a moment as he maintained a deathly serious expression, Kasumi finally voiced what everyone was thinking.

"So, what's the news Shep?"

Shepard took a deep breath, nodding in acknowledgment to the shared question, before speaking, "The Collectors are striking more human colonies, and have been doing so for some time now," He began, "However, I've just received word that they are targeting two separate colonies, and will be invading them within a matter of hours." He announced.

"Colonies?" Jordan asked in bewilderment, which Brian was about to voice as well.

Shepard frowned and nodded, "Yes, the colonies of Ferris Fields and Freedom's Progress have both gone dark." He admitted, "While the Illusive Man claims to have a fleet on its way to Freedom's Progress, we are currently en route to Ferris Fields. Mordin, how does our countermeasure look?"

Mordin held his chin with a light frown, before it became a smile, "Yes, have gotten quite far. Discovered a combination of Seeker Swarm hormones and Geth hydraulic fluids confuse the swarms. With limited numbers, should be unrecognizable to swarms."

"Excellent. There's one piece of good news, at least." Shepard told him, "Now, since we have our target and a means to protect ourselves, it's time to explain the plan. EDI, show us a map of Ferris Fields. Give us a quick rundown of the planet." He asked.

 _"At once, Shepard."_ Just as she claimed, the center of the table projected a large holographic display of said colonial planet. _"Ferris Fields is one of the many human colonies founded by the Alliance within the Terminus Systems. A pristine garden world, Ferris fields experiences moderate temperatures year-round, with short, non-severe winters and extended growing seasons. It is home to an estimated 459,000 civilians, with nothing more than three ground-based GARDIAN Laser Towers and several GARDIAN laser turrets within the capital city of New Topeka and a small colonial militia. Its current relationship with the Alliance is slightly positive."_

"Thank you, EDI."

"So, we've got a farming colony about to be invaded?" Jacob asked.

Nodding, Shepard spoke again, "The obvious goal of the Collectors is to abduct as many colonists as possible. As such, they will attempt to shut down the GARDIAN defense system as soon as possible. Based on previous reports, they avoid collateral damage to the colonies they invade. Doing so, they avoid full intervention and investigation by the System's Alliance, as well as leave the colonies open to repopulate in the future. As such, we will have three primary objectives, and three separate teams to tackle each one."

Shepard reached over toward his now-active Omni-Tool and began messing with a few things, manipulating the display to zoom in on the Colony, focusing on the capital city and displaying an overlay of it. First, a red, blinking icon appeared near the southwest corner of New Topeka.

"Squad one, led by myself, will be deployed here, at the edge of the city within a park. We'll follow a series of roads towards the nearby minor militia base housing the GARDIAN system slightly further into the city. From there, we'll establish a connection to the defense network and get the turrets and cannons online." Shepard looked around the room to make sure everyone understood.

Next, a blinking blue dot appeared near the northern end of the city, which led into the beginning of fields of crops. There were a number of apartment complexes in this location.

"Team number two will be led by Vakarian." He announced, to which everyone turned to for a moment before refocusing on Shepard, "This population center houses the most concentrated population of humans on the planet; a perfect target for the Collectors. Garrus' squad will be responsible for preventing the Collectors from reaching their prizes. Luckily, their focus may shift away from their goals and toward the other squads." Garrus, realizing the gravity of the situation, hesitantly nodded, before he became more confident and nodded again.

Shepard nodded back, having full confidence in his friend. After a moment, a third, green dot, began to blink. This time, slightly east of the city's limits, where a small group of buildings laid.

"The third objective will be the primary Military Base on Ferris Fields. There, Alliance personnel will likely be under fire by a group of Collectors. If they take this installation down, it will cripple the Alliance's presence in the area, not to mention the loss of a major planetary base within the Terminus Systems. Our final squad, led by Miss Lawson, will be dropped off nearby."

Miranda nodded confidently, knowing for a fact that she could get the job done. Shepard smiled at the confidence of his two chosen leaders. Excellent.

"Now, we'll be arriving at Ferris Fields in four hours. Mid-day local time. After this briefing, I expect you to prepare yourselves for this mission. Take your potty breaks and your naps, because we're landing as soon as we arrive." Shepard took a deep breath, preparing to speak again.

"This is the reason why we've come together and formed this group. While we do our damnedest to save this colony and its civilians, there are countless more who have been lost or will be lost without us. The Collectors think we'll just stand there and take it, but we will do no such thing. Today, we will show the Collectors that we mean business. We will show them what happens when they try to take our people." He said, looking around the room to see a group of the best of the best, all ready to kick some Collector ass.

He turned to Garrus, "Garrus, you'll be leading Miss Vasir, Miss Goto, and Jack. Save as many civilians as you can!" The four of them nodded.

Next, he faces Miranda, "Miranda, you will have Zaeed Massani, Professor Solus, and Jacob Taylor working with you. Keep that installation running!"

Finally, he faced the entire group, "I, myself, will be leading both of our Avatars, and Grunt. We'll hit those towers hard, and get them working again." He smiled at his crewmates, before turning toward Avatar number one, "Jordan, it'll just be us at Ferris Fields. The Alliance won't arrive until well into tomorrow, and Cerberus is preoccupied with Freedom's Progress. Can you make a call?"

Jordan smiled, "Way ahead of you, Shepard."

Nodding with a smile in return, "Good. Dismissed."

As everyone began leaving the Comm room in preparation for the mission, Jordan silently opened his Omni-Tool and dialed a very specific number, now that he was alone in the room. It only rang twice, before it was picked up.

An artificial, deep-ish voice answered, _"Jordan. How nice to hear from you."_ Prime, the Geth representative on the Citadel answered.

"Hey, Prime… how would you like to both improve the Galaxy's opinion on the Geth AND save thousands of lives?"

_"I'm listening…"_

"How fast can our fleets move? And how close is Legion's fleet from the center of the Terminus Systems?" Jordan asked, already with a smile on his face. Oh boy, was this going to be good…

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, GARDIAN Targeting Center.**

**March 16th, 2185. 12:38 pm. (Local Time)**

Operations Chief Ashley Williams gripped her Avenger Assault rifle tightly as she glared toward the invading alien menace with resistance. Oh, how she wished she could unload her thermal clip into the ugly, glowing beast before her. Unfortunately for the Operations Chief, she was prevented from doing so by the three odd bugs that were latched onto her, providing an eerie golden glow around her still frame as she was locked firmly in place. Unable to even twitch her itchy trigger finger.

The glowing monstrosity approached her, holding some sort of organic-looking weaponry and flanked by two non-glowing aliens. It seems smug, possibly. If this alien was even capable of such emotion. She could hear the cries and screams for help as the aliens invaded and abducted the thousands of colonists around her, all while the large hive-like craft hovered over the center of New Topeka.

And here she was, doing nothing as countless civilians around her were carted off to unknown, likely horrible fates.

She was interrupted from her unheard self-depreciation as the glowing alien suddenly spoke English, its voice a horrifyingly deep, artificial voice, reminding her eerily of Sovereign speaking on Virmire. This was when she knew this wasn't some simple alien invasion… this was some part of a larger scheme by the Reapers. Was this glowing creature possessed by a Reaper, just as Saren was possessed on the Citadel?

 **"Put Williams into the specialized containment unit. I want Shepard to feel this…"** It said ominously, before one of the drones chittered something toward the glowing leader. Turning his attention towards Ashley, she suddenly wished that Drone hadn't said whatever it had said. The leader spoke again, **"Shepard has arrived. His time has come, once again."** He said, before the creature before Ashley disintegrated, leaving her alone with the two regular aliens, but not before it spoke one final, haunting sentence.

**"I am the Harbinger of your ascendance."**

Harbinger… Ashely didn't like the sound of that…

'Shepard, I hope you really are out there… and I hope you're the skipper I knew…' She thought quietly, just as two more aliens arrived, carrying some sort of containment pod.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, Rainer's Park.**

**March 16th, 2185. 12:24 pm. (Local Time)**

**[A few Minutes Prior.]**

The Cerberus Shuttle landed swiftly and silently, hovering over the grass of a clearing within a small park on the edge of New Topeka. Rainer's Park, named after the second elected mayor of New Topeka, was an ideal landing spot for Shepard's squad, with a fairly clear path to the GARDIAN System's control center nearby, consisting of a tunnel and a few buildings to hide within.

New Topeka, as it turns out, was built on a series of hills, surrounded by mostly flat, fertile land, ripe for farming. Regardless, Shepard jumped out of the shuttle first, followed closely by Jordan, Brian, and Grunt.

Assault rifles raised, the four of them swept the surrounding trees for Collectors, only to find not a single living being. Off in the distance, screaming could be heard from humans under assault from the Collectors, while the large Collector Ship stood tall and proud in the center of the city. There was no doubt about it, the Collector's invasion has already begun. Raising a hand to his helmet, Shepard contacted the rest of his ground team.

"Report."

 _"We've just landed downtown, Shepard,"_ Garrus informed him over the comms.

 _"Same here, Commander. Squad three is outside the Alliance base."_ Miranda spoke back.

"Perfect. Let's raise hell!" Shepard responded with a smile, speaking to his entire crew.

_"Hell yeah!" "I'm ready!" "Let's do this Shepard!" "Time to fuck some shit up!" "Roger that!"_

Nodding silently with a smile, Shepard waved his free hand forward as he re-gripped his weapon, advancing forward quickly through the park. Jordan, Brian, and Grunt all followed closely behind, not saying a single word as the made their way through the park, not seeing a single person, before they eventually made it to the exit.

Strolling forward, leaving the relative safety of the park, they observed large swarms of seekers, buzzing around the city before them.

"Be ready. Let's hope Mordin's countermeasure holds up…" Shepard informed them as they proceeded forward.

 _"Shepard."_ EDI spoke over the first squad's comms, _"If you continue on your current path, you will reach GARDIAN targeting center. However, the Seeker Swarms are prevalent further into the city, preventing the Normandy from scanning the terrain. This will make contact with the Normandy difficult. You will be on your own in there."_

"Got it. Thanks, EDI."

As they continued, advancing down the street amongst abandoned and broken sky cars, the Seeker Swarms began to grow thicker above their heads but seemed to ignore the four of them. Suddenly, they saw two of the Collectors loading a frozen colonist into some sort of containment pod, before one of them turned and spotted them. This, unfortunately, must have caused it to send out a silent alarm, signaling non-frozen and armed intruders, because reinforcements quickly arrived.

Diving behind a red sky car as cover, Shepard peaked over and fired a burst of fire towards the Collectors, forcing them to abandon the colonist and take cover, themselves. While this happened, Jordan and Brian dove towards a nearby blue car, while Grunt joined Shepard behind the red one. Around the corner by the Collectors, six more of them arrived, sending covering fire for their allies with their particle rifles.

Two of these new Collectors advanced closer, reaching the mid-point between the opposing sides, before deploying hex shields as portable cover. Shepard, noticing their proximity, turned toward his Krogan ally and nodded, "Brian, move up silently. Jordan, prepare to fire when the opportunity arises. Grunt… What are you, again?!" He asked rhetorically with a small smirk beneath his helmet.

Switching to incendiary ammo, Grunt smirked as he swapped to his shotgun, the M-22 Eviscerator. Smirking still, he rose from cover and charged toward the nearest Collector.

"I. AM. KROGAN!" He screamed, slamming his shoulder into the first, unprepared, Collector, sending it momentarily scrambling on the cement, before its head was obliterated by Grunt's weapon. Seeing his companion die to the perfect Krogan, the other mid-ranged Collector rose and began to fire upon Grunt, but not before Jordan did as he was commanded, and tears the second Collector apart with his rifle.

Shepard, meanwhile, swapped his rifle out for his sniper rifle, the M-92 Mantis. Taking aim, his snipes one of the remaining six in the back, as another burst into green-ish/black biotic flames from Brian, who had gotten much closer thanks to his tactical cloak. Advancing forward, now back to his rifle, Shepard and Jordan approached the remaining Collectors, as Grunt charged behind enemy lines and Brian flanked them from the side.

A matter of seconds later, the eight Collectors all lied dead in various degrees of states of destruction. Grunt, in particular, seemed exceptionally pleased by this.

"You were right Shepard. These were, indeed, worthy foes." He said with a grin, a few nicks and scrapes visible on his skin, though otherwise unharmed.

"Let's keep moving Grunt. I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from."

Now regrouped, the four of them continued forward a bit, before approaching the frozen civilian, who still seemed to be alive despite everything. Brian reached a hand out towards the woman but hesitated. Shepard noticed this and sighed, "There's nothing we can do but wait for the Seeker Venom to wear off… and we have a job to do." he said with a visible frown beneath his mask, "Let's continue." He obviously didn't like having to make this call, but there was no other choice. If they waited here for one colonist, they'd lose the rest of the Colony.

Once again moving forward, they soon nearly approached a large hill with a sizable tunnel cut through it, with buildings on either side of them.

"On the left!" Brian shouted, running toward cover behind another aircar. Turning to look to their left, they saw ten Collectors rush out of the building as they began to open fire upon them. Jordan, getting on the other side of Shepard, activated his enhanced shields from the Geth and protected both himself and Shepard as they ran for cover. Grunt, too, ran for cover, though it was still pretty close to the enemy.

As they reached the aircars, the glass shattered a few floors up on the building as several more Collectors jumped and flew down from the larger height with their wings, joining their comrades in battle. A few others remained behind on the fourth and fifth floors, using the high ground to their advantages.

"Damn, ambush!" Jordan cried out as the four of them began to try to return fire as best as they could. Unfortunately, things just got worse from there.

 **"Assuming direct control."** A deep, horrifying voice called out as one of the ground-based troops rose into the air and began to glow a harsh black-gold color.

Shepard's eyes shot open a bit wider seeing this, "What the fuck is that?!" He asked, noticing that Jordan and Brian seemed to know who or what this was… and they certainly looked terrified to him.

As the glowing Collector landed back on the ground, it seemed to answer Shepard's question as it spoke again, **"I am the Harbinger of your ascendance."** He helpfully introduced himself, before flinging a raging ball of pure dark energy, shaking the aircar they were using as cover and blowing Brian back a few steps.

"Grunt, concuss this Harbinger!"

"On your ass!" He yelled out, firing a Concussive Shot at Harbinger, damaging the biotic barriers around it and sending him stumbling a bit as he turned his attention towards the Krogan.

 **"Krogan; sterilized race, potential wasted."** It seemed to acknowledge him, before directing a few Collectors to fire upon the Krogan, forcing Grunt to fall back to some form of cover.

Shepard turned to Brian, "I need a distraction!" Shepard called out, before he reached toward his hip to grab a few grenades.

Nodding, Brian's appearance flickered, before he stood up and ran forward towards the horde of Collectors, screaming and he charged with his rifle, yet didn't fire a single shot. In a quick panic, not knowing what he was about to do, most of the Collectors began to focus fire upon him, only to discover he seemed impervious to damage. Their thought process was interrupted by the clinking of metal beneath them, before explosions ripped apart half of the Collectors on the street.

Harbinger, however, didn't seem upset by this, **"Kill one and one hundred will replace it."** It claimed simply, firing another blast at the car, causing it to explode immediately, sending the three of them scrambling in opposite directions with failing shields. Noticing his Battlemaster in need, Grunt charged over with his assault rifle, giving covering fire in an attempt to buy his allies time to find new cover, seeing as how humans were a bit squishier than Krogan.

That's when Harbinger took notice of the two Avatars scrambling for cover, **"The Avatars are our priority. Capture alive, if possible."** He called out, before a dark, biotic pull-like ability grabbed onto Jordan, pulling him directly out of cover as several Collectors charged forward.

"A-ahhh, a little help here?!" Jordan called out, firing his rifle towards the invaders. Brian and Grunt, both wielding shotguns, ran forward to save Jordan taking out a few Collectors on their way as Shepard focused on sending a few friendly missiles through the fourth and fifth floors of the buildings, taking out the higher-level enemies.

Grabbing Jordan as the biotic ability ended, he stopped in place and rose to his feet quickly as he joined his saviors with weapon fire. With Jordan saved and most of the ambush destroyed, only Harbinger remained, but only for a few more seconds as the four of them obliterated its remaining Barriers and what little armor remained on the glowing bastard.

With one final bullet between its four eyes by Shepard, the form before them began to dissolve and disintegrate, but not before he spoke once more.

**"This changes nothing, Shepard. You have only delayed the inevitable."**

The squad took several deep breaths and began administering medi-gel on their wounds from the ambush, as Shepard made another mental note to question the two Avatars on what they knew about Harbinger. Unfortunately, that'd have to wait.

Turning towards the tunnel, they knew where they needed to go was just on the other side of this tunnel. Reaching up to his helmet as they began to continue walking, he called in to check on the other squads.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, Shawnee Housing Complex.**

**March 16th, 2185. 12:59 pm. (Local Time)**

_"Garrus, what's your status?"_ Shepard had called out over the comm channel, likely trying to gauge how the second squad was doing and how successful their mission was.

Garrus Vakarian, however, did not reply as he exhaled slowly, just as his whole body rocked backward in response to the firing of his Mantis. Satisfaction was all he felt for a split second as he saw the beauty of the splashing pieces of a Collector's head spread out over a few feet of grass. Smirking to himself, he finally reached up to his visor and responded.

"We're managing over here, Shepard." He answered, pulling back on his rifle as the spent thermal clip was ejected, immediately followed by a new clip's insertion. "I don't know what you did Shepard, but at least half of the forces over her retreated toward your position not long after we landed."

_"Yeah… managed to piss off their boss a bit and survived an ambush."_

"An ambush for them, or for you?" He responded cheekily.

_"Honestly… I don't even think Harbinger knew which one by this point."_

"Harbinger?" Garrus asked, letting another shot leave the barrel of his gun as it sailed through the head of one of the many floating Collectors thanks to Jack's and Tela's biotics. He only wondered where Kasumi was for a split second, before a random Collector preparing to take a shot was stabbed from behind by an unseen force, killing him. The only clue to the perpetrator behind the act was the telltale "Ha ha" Garrus' visor barely picked up from the distance.

Shepard responded, _"Yeah, seemed like a swell guy. Seems to have some sort of fixation on me."_

"Just like everyone else in this Galaxy. You should start a fan club." Garrus responded, pushing another thermal clip into this rifle and firing once more, before slowly standing back up to change defensive positions.

Shepard grunted a quick laugh, before returning to business, _"What's the status on those civilians?"_

Looking over as he moved, Garrus caught the sight of several Collector Pods, both filled and not, "It's not great, Shepard, but far better than we feared. About a fourth of the population is unaccounted for, and more than half of those we found are already stuck inside these pods. Everyone else is frozen by the Seeker Swarms, but we stopped those bastards from carting any of them away."

_"Not bad, Garrus."_

"Don't get me wrong, the Collectors REALLY want these people, but with your squad and Miranda's keeping some of the pressure off of us, we might be able to hold positions until you blast that ship out of the sky." Garrus briefed him, finally settling on a new spot as he began to reload his sniper, "They're tough sons of bitches, but we'll manage."

 _"Good. ETA five minutes from the GARDIAN center, as long as…"_ Shepard began to tell him…

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, En-Route to GARDIAN Targeting Center.**

**March 16th, 2185. 1:06 pm. (Local Time)**

"Good. ETA five minutes from the GARDIAN center, as long as…" Shepard began, before his thoughts were interrupted by a series of horrifying moans behind him, from the tunnel they had just emerged from. Those moans, unfortunately, were very familiar to the seasoned Spectre, and it seemed like his squad had recognized the sounds as well.

"Fuck… Husks…" Jordan said, turning around to face the dark tunnel. The ominous origin of the moans only amplified the terrifying sounds with the echoes vibrating off the metal-covered walls of the tunnel.

 _"Uh, Shepard… was that what I think it was?"_ Garrus asked over the comm channel, obviously having heard the ominous moans.

As if in answer to the turian's question, several blue humanoid beings emerged from the tunnel, shuffling forward toward the squad in an unnaturally awkward manner while simultaneously approaching at their normal, alarming pace.

"Don't let them grab you!" Shepard called out, running the incendiary ammo program while simultaneously shooting a concussive shot into the closest Husk, forcing it to skid backward along the ground. Its buddies, however, seemed unfazed by the state of their ally as they rushed forward.

Grabbing his shotgun, Krogan and Battlemaster worked together in burning the undead Reaper forces to ashes, while Jordan and Brian worked in the back at range, trying to kill the seemingly endless husk supply coming through the tunnel. They'd already killed over a dozen, when the first odd-colored husk came out.

It was colored a harsh red, and seemed to almost glow amongst the shade cast by the clouds above. It, too, charged forward towards the squad, ducking and weaving between other husks as it got up and close to Grunt and Shepard.

Seeing this, Jordan began to panic and called out without thinking, "Abominations! Don't let them get close, they explode!" He cried out quickly, just as more began to emerge and the first one got within feet of Grunt. The Krogan, seeing it as an average threat, much like the other husks, simply blasted the damn thing. Unfortunately, the thing didn't go down quickly like the other husks, and suddenly burst into flames.

That's when it exploded.

The tank-bred was thrown back by the powerful yet small blast, completely losing his shields as he was dazed from the blast.

"Grunt!" Shepard cried out, blasting the head off of another husk as Brian rushed toward Grunt and began administering Medi-Gel to the dazed Krogan. Jordan, too, dashed between them and the horde of husks, covering them as Shepard blasted his way back towards the other three members of his squad, tactically retreating to give his fallen comrade some covering fire.

It was only a few moments longer before the horde of husks and so-called 'Abominations' were laying in pieces between the squad and the tunnel. Shepard loaded a fresh thermal clip into his shotgun and his rifle before looking at Grunt, "How're you feeling, Grunt?" He asked him as said Krogan slowly rose to his feet.

"Little more than a damaged pride, Shepard." He told him, shrugging off the burn marks now visible and healing on his arms and the left side of his face.

Shepard nodded, before quickly rounding on Jordan, anger clear on his face, "What the hell was that?!"

Jordan audibly swallowed, knowing exactly what Shepard meant, "W-what?" He asked, beginning to sweat slightly.

Shepard moved his intimidating glare toward Brian, who flinched momentarily, before he returned his gaze to Jordan, "You identified the leading Collector as Harbinger, and those red Husks and Abominations…"

"I was just…" Jordan began before he was quickly interrupted.

"If you say that you gave them names out of nowhere, I'm leaving your ass on this planet when we're done, with or without stopping the Collectors." He countered, effectively shutting Jordan up, "Now, I know I've been lenient with the secrets, but I think I'm beginning to rethink my approach to this." He began, eyeing the two of them.

"Shepard, we didn't mean to hide this kind of information from you." Brian tried to reason with him. "It's just that…"

"Sharing information about what forces we were to expect down here was dangerous?" He questioned sarcastically, "Grunt wouldn't have been nearly killed by a kamikaze zombie if I'd known they'd self-destruct prior to your last-minute warning." Shepard yelled out, "And don't even get me started on Harbinger. You're lucky I had explosives to spare to save us from that damn ambush. Now, I've got three rockets and one grenade left!" He exclaimed.

Shepard turned around and sighed, taking in a deep breath before turning around, "Now… I may not fully understand this need for secrecy, but I can guarantee that Cerberus can't hear us now." He fixed his glare onto Jordan, intensifying it ten-fold, "So I'm going to try asking nicely before I take it to option number two. What else can we expect from the Collectors."

Jordan flinched, looking over to Brian for some kind of support, who hesitantly nodded back. Looking defeated, the Avatar of Synthesis sighed and spoke, "Th-they have these other two monstrosities that they'd formed from humans and Reaper tech… they're called Scions and Praetorians…" Jordan shifted his gaze toward his fellow Avatar, who sighed as well before explaining.

"Scions are blue monstrosities, taller than Grunt, and wield a cannon on their left arm that fires biotic shockwaves. They usually stick toward the back and hit from afar. Praetorians are flying bug-like creatures made from husks that fire beams of energy, much like the Collector's weapons, and smash into the ground with biotic power. They are exceptionally deadly at any range, and have rechargeable biotic barriers over their thick armor. They could be considered deadlier than even Harbinger's controlled drones." He explained.

Shepard sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "And we're likely going to encounter both of them here, with my luck…" He regained his glare quickly enough, though, "And you two weren't going to share this information if I hadn't pressed you, would you?" Their silence was answer enough, "This debrief if going to be hell for the two of you, mark my words, but if we stand here any longer, we'll risk reinforcements and further losses… double time it, no stopping until we make it to the GARDIAN targeting center!"

"Yes, sir!" They both shouted, taking the lead as Shepard and Grunt followed close behind, the latter having remained quiet during the whole conversation.

Continuing on their way, Shepard called out to both other teams, warning them of the new husk threats they might be facing.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, Riley Alliance Compound.**

**March 16th, 2185. 1:23 pm. (Local Time)**

_"… all of which we have never encountered before. Be on the lookout for them, and call them in if encountered."_

_"You got it, Shepard. Husks seem to be steering clear of the populated centers. Damn Collectors must be worried they'd damage the goods."_

"Roger that, Commander." Miranda Lawson responded, "We've already had a wave of those bloody abominations hit the compound."

 _"What's your status, Lawson?"_ Commander Shepard questioned, having not checked in exclusive with his XO thus far during the mission.

Taking a moment to breathe, Miranda wiped the forming sweat off her forehead as the enemy seemed to fall back before they inevitably sent another wave at the compound, "No casualties thus far, Commander. Unfortunately, your Alliance soldiers are serving as little more than statues at the moment. Didn't even take out a single Collector or bloody bug before they froze." She reported professionally, although a bit biased against the Alliance soldiers frozen around and behind her.

 _"That's to be expected, XO."_ Shepard responded evenly, _"They DID lack our countermeasure."_ Shepard paused for a moment before speaking again, _"Any sign of Ashley?"_ He asked, a bit quieter this time.

Miranda turned around the nearby corner of the facility and nodded toward Mordin, who was busy attempting to restore full power to the entire compound, "That's a negative, Commander. There are records within the system of her presence, but the most recent data hasn't been recovered yet." She informed him, reaching Zaeed's chokepoint within the complex as he sat back and smiled, obviously observing Lawson for 'professional purposes'.

She frowned in distaste as she checked on her last squadmate, Jacob, who'd been working on free those who had already been shoved into pods by the now-dead Collectors scattered around the various rooms and halls of the building. "However, it seems like she might have been at the GARDIAN center. Previous records indicate her daily presence over there in the early afternoon to oversee operations."

 _"Alright… Thank you, Miranda."_ She couldn't help but smile lightly at that for a split second, before she donned her Ice-Queen persona once more, _"Keep me updated on any further developments."_

"Loud and clear, Commander." She responded, before a secondary channel opened up.

_"Lawson. Collectors regrouped. Preparing another wave. Seemed to have brought Scions. Appearance matches Shepard's descriptions."_

Miranda internally sighed. Of course, it had to happen to her first. Re-opening Shepard's channel, she updated him immediately.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, GARDIAN Targeting Center.**

**March 16th, 2185. 1:39 pm. (Local Time)**

_"Shepard, Mordin is reporting Scion presence outside of the compound."_ Shepard's XO informed him, _"Going to have to deal with this bloody mess now…"_

"Your mic's still hot, XO," Shepard responded with a quick smile, before the line went immediately dark. Must have been slightly embarrassed at the screw-up. Perfect Miranda Lawson, foiled by comm channel trickery… Regardless, Shepard quickly wiped the smile from his face and became serious as they entered the 'Alliance Property', ignoring the many signs informing them that trespassing would result in harsh penalties.

Together and close to one another, the squad of four entered through the southern entrance, into the large, mostly open field with a few small buildings scattered around the edges and a single, moderately sized antenna in the center of the area, flanked by several, small concrete barriers to keep it safe from possible enemy fire to disable the device. Unfortunately, the Alliance didn't take Seeker Swarms into account as they constructed the area, seeing as how several dozen filled pods laid across the mostly open field in the center of the targeting area.

Most of the hardware and software was likely located in the main building to the right, which was easily the largest of the few scattered buildings within the small complex. However, very quickly the squad spotted a group of Collectors actively transporting a very peculiar pod, looking slightly bulkier in build, toward what appeared to be some sort of craft. In all likelihood, they'd be moving this pod to the Collector ship immediately… for whatever reason, this pod was given priority over every other pod around the clearing, which they were clearly ignoring for the time being.

Shepard had a gut feeling, telling him that allowing the Collectors to move that pod would not be beneficial in any sort of fashion… heeding his gut, Shepard waved his hand forward quickly, before re-gripping his assault rifle as he began to open fire upon the small squad of Collectors.

The four remaining Collectors immediately dropped the pod and raced for cover as their fifth member was torn apart by a concussive shot/headshot burst combo from Shepard, while the Normandy squad dove for their own cover amongst the equipment and concrete barriers.

Jordan rose up, shields enhanced by the Geth Shields, and rushed forward into another set of cover, laying down suppressive fire along the way as both Grunt and Brian advanced up the sides. Brian sent his Dark Channel forward, burning the Collectors one-by-one as yet another enemy was knocked from cover by Grunt's concussive shot. Picking apart the well-underprepared squad of Collectors, the fighting soon ended after a few more moments, having caught them blissfully off-guard.

"Grunt, Brian, watch the perimeter. Jordan, advance with me." Shepard called out, advancing to meet Jordan as they both approached the fallen pod, the other two squad mates now watching their surroundings.

Stopping just in front of the pod, Shepard only had to gaze beyond the semi-clear cover of the pod to understand the true importance of it. Laying within it, with eyes wide open and in alarm, was Ashely Williams. Within the pod, said soldier looked horrified and fearful, yet made no attempt to move, as the Seeker Venom was likely still affecting her even now.

Commander John Shepard's heart stopped for a split second, realizing that if he had only been a few minutes later, she would have been within Collector custody aboard their ship. "Ash…" He said in a quiet whisper, reaching out to toward the pod, before pulling back, contemplating busting open the pod before thinking better of it for the time being.

Turning to the side, he motioned Brian to come over. He, too, opened his eyes wide with surprise, much as Jordan and himself had done just a moment earlier. "You two, find a way to open that pod. I'm going to power up this network." He told/informed them, leaving the Avatars to their assigned task as he approached the main building, which was clear of hostiles.

Making his way towards the main console quickly, he forced a reboot to the entire system, beginning the process of powering on the system while simultaneously boosting the signal of their comm system, allowing communications to be restored to the Normandy.

_"… to shore party. Anyone read us?"_

Shepard smiled lightly, "Loud and clear, Joker."

_"sigh… We've been trying to raise you for a while, Commander. It's good to hear your voice again."_

"Same here, Joker. It's good to know you were worried about me."

_"Whatever."_

"EDI, I need you to interface with the GARDIAN system. I need these towers up and running immediately."

 _"At once, Commander."_ He synthetic voice immediately responded, _"Connection established. It seems there are bugs within the system, and the calibrations on the targeting software are incomplete."_

"I need an estimate, EDI. When can you get these cannon firing?"

 _"It will require rerouting of power from New Topeka's grid, and approximately fifteen minutes to power on and target the cruiser."_ She responded, _"Alert. Such a power fluctuation will be noticeable city-wide. The Collectors will know exactly what you're doing and where."_

"So, we'd be sending up a beacon for them." Shepard said, frowning, though not surprised, "Ok, do it. I want these bastards off this planet ASAP."

_"Starting the process now, Shepard. Estimated fourteen minutes and fifty-six seconds remaining."_

Jumping onto his comms quickly, he spoke to his squad, "We've got incoming, guys. We must hold this position until the cannons come online in fifteen minutes."

 _"Roger that, Shepard. I'm seeing activity from the North."_ Grunt relayed.

Running outside to rejoin his squad, Shepard continued, "Loud and clear, Grunt. What's Ashley's status?"

_"Brian and I popped the damn thing open, Commander, but we're leaving the cover intact just in case. She's not going to be moving for a while. We did manage to push her into one of the smaller buildings nearby."_

Stepping outside, the four of them regrouped outside the primary structure. "Defensive positions, they'll be on us any minute," Shepard called out, switching his ammunition to incendiary, as Grunt did the same to his rifle and Jordan did to his with Disruptor Ammo.

Suddenly, a squad of ten Collectors flew over the eastern wall of the complex, landing on the other side quickly and efficiently as they quickly entered cover and began to fire upon the squad of four. Just as soon as they arrived, loud moans were heard from the south, as several more husks and abominations rushed through, followed closely by slow, shambling monstrosities that could only be the Scions that were mentioned earlier.

As if that wasn't bad enough, before a single Collector was even grazed by a shot, one of them rose into the air and began to glow for only a second, before returning to the ground and cover. Harbinger was here, too.

 **"You cannot escape your destiny, Shepard."** Harbinger's voice rang out, as a swirling ball of golden-black energy flew toward them, ripping apart one of the cement barriers.

Shepard rose out of cover for a split second, swapping to his rocket launcher as he fired his third remaining rocket toward the Collector leader, only to have it blocked by several immediately deployed hex shields. Cursing under his breath, Shepard motioned for Grunt and Jordan to work on the flanking husks and abominations, while he and Brian worked on the slowly advancing Collectors.

Using his shredder ammo and tactile cloak, Brian quickly moved to a flanking position against the Collectors, utilizing his submachine gun to quickly shred through some of the barriers, even ending the pitiful life of one Collector before more hex shields were produced to cover them. Taking advantage of the distraction, Shepard threw a grenade perfectly over the deployed shields, detonating and killing the three Collectors it landed by, who had all just lost their barriers to Brian's gunfire.

While the two of them worked on the Collector threat, Jordan and Grunt focused their fire on the advancing husk swarm. "Aim for the red ones, Grunt. Let's use some friendly fire!"

Understanding quickly dawning on the Krogan tank-bred, the two of them focused fire on the abominations within the ranks of normal husks, causing them to detonate and kill several of their own allies. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of abominations, allowing a dozen or so husks to remain on track towards them. That's when the first shockwave blast hit them from the Scions, knocking Grunt out of cover momentarily, while destroying Jordan's cover.

"Leave the big ones to me." Grunt called out, firing a concussive shot into the center of the horde, destroying one, sending a few scattering and stumbling, and opening a large divide within the group. Utilizing this, Grunt charged forward toward the Scions. "I AM KROGAN!"

Jordan would have smiled at the quote, but couldn't spare the time as most of the husks seemed focused on him, rather than the large Krogan charging by. Simultaneously utilizing his Geth Shield Boost and an overcharged Overload, Jordan rose from cover and shocked the husks, leaving them temporarily open to his rifle as he opened fire with his Geth Pulse Rifle.

While he focused on this threat, Grunt just arrived at Scion number on, firing his shotgun into the soft, fleshy bits and heads as it began to burst into flames. Rolling to the side and avoiding Scion number two's shockwave, the first monstrosity exploded from the biotic/fire combo, falling to the ground in pieces as Grunt launched another concussive shot into the second and final scion. It stumbled, only to soon burst into flames just before the Krogan slammed into it, sending it falling to its back uselessly. Standing victorious over the worthy foe, Grunt unloaded the remained of his clip into the beast, silencing it quickly.

Unfortunately, as Jordan mopped up the last of the horde, more moans could be heard approaching from the southern exit once more, as yet another large group of husks, abominations, and scions began to approach as well. Grunt's victory was short-lived as he popped in a new thermal clip, preparing for another wave.

As the Krogan-Avatar duo finished the first wave of husks off, Shepard and Brian dove for new sets of cover as the previous ones were blown apart by Harbinger, who now remained with only three other Collector troops. As moans were heard once more in the distance, more buzzing came from the eastern and western walls, just before another dozen Collectors flew over each wall and raised hex shields.

Reinforcements had arrived.

"Fall back and regroup!" Shepard called out, "EDI, how're our guns looking?"

 _"85.2% completion, Commander."_ The AI responded over the comms.

 **"You prolong the inevitable."** Harbinger announced as the reinforcements began to fire upon the squad of four, who have all regrouped and fallen back towards the main building.

"Jordan, overload their hex shields on my signal. Grunt, get ready to concuss the shields too. Brian, I want a dark channel weakening their barriers." Shepard called out, switching back to his rocket launcher. Taking aim at the condensed group of collectors on his left, Shepard shouted, "NOW!"

The overload and concussive shot fired simultaneously, shorting out and ripping the hex shields apart, weakening the barriers of some of the Collectors as well. Brian's dark channel began to race between Collector's further weakening them. Immediately following, as Jordan and Brian began to pick off abominations at the south, diminishing the husk horde, Shepard launched both final rockets into the approaching Collectors.

Without shields and most of their barriers, many were blown apart instantly, while Shepard lobbed a grenade into the group of husks shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Harbinger did not seem to mind the loss of troops, **"These attacks are pointless."** He taunted, just as high-pitched distorted screeching was heard nearby, soon followed by a monstrosity's appearance.

"PRAETORIAN!" Jordan and Briand called out simultaneously in fear.

The flying beast made up of countless husks came forward over the walls of the compound, firing a directed particle beam towards them, hitting Grunt directly as he was sent flying backward, bleeding and burned heavily. The Krogan wasn't getting back up.

**"We are superior."**

"Fuck that!" Shepard said, looking around for power cells to add more rockets to his arsenal. Finding a power cell nearby within a piece of equipment they were using as cover, the Commander quickly scavenged it, buying him a few more shots. Sending a quick signal to Grunt's suit to administer medi-gel, he turned to Jordan, "We're going to need Synthesis, Jordan!"

Jordan frowned behind his visor but did not refuse such an order. He took a deep breath and concentrated, his omni-tool came to life, glowing a bright green, as did his skin beneath the armor and helmet. Suddenly, just a second later, his omni-tool turned red in alarm before shutting off from overheating. Simultaneously, all of his weapons began to glow and their thermal clips ejected as the weapons and clips both overheated. His shields sparked and crashed as every other system within his suit, including his hud, crashed.

In response, Shepard's and Brian's omni-tool began to glow green, holding the color now as their thermal clips copied the color. Their systems warned of overclocking, yet voiced no additional warnings. Their shields blazed to life, becoming easily visible as they nearly doubled in strength.

Shepard, smirking, rose from cover with his current rocket count rising from five to eight. He let loose a barrage of rockets towards the enemy as several decoys from Brian had the remaining forces scattering in confusion for s split second. Adding to that the gunfire from Grunt and Brian, the rockets hit their marks, two of which hitting Harbinger's form directly, killing it and damaging the Praetorian as it dove into the ground with a shockwave, forcibly recharging its weakened barriers.

One of the remaining Collectors soon began to rise from the ground and began to glow, signaling its transformation and possession by Harbinger. That's when EDI spoke once more.

 _"GARDIAN defense system online. Preparing to fire."_ EDI announced, before she spoke again, _"Power surge from Collector Ship, detected."_

That's when the unthinkable happened. The yellow laser activated on the starboard side of the hovering ship, blasting the large cannons and pieces while sparing the rest of the colony. The entire GARDIAN system was destroyed. Shepard and his conscious squad members looked up in awe and fear at the blast, realizing now that this was something the Collectors were ready for. It had been used as bait…

 **"Hope is irrelevant. We are limitless."** He called out, as more buzzing could be heard, followed by many more Collectors flying over the walls. Regardless of their skill, they'd be overwhelmed eventually, especially with their dwindling thermal clip supply.

"Dammit!" Shepard called out, "EDI, we're going to need an airstrike or evac!" he called out.

 _"C-Commander… We're losssssssszzzzzzz… signal… Tshhhhhhhh…"_ The communications cut out as the power failed and the comm booster power down.

As Jordan's Synthesis wore off and his shields re-cycled, he quickly became aware of the happenings of the situation. The Praetorian rose back into the air with fully recharged barriers as it prepared to assault the squad's position. They were well and truly fucked.

* * *

**Entering Ferris Fields' Atmosphere, Above New Topeka, The Nedas.**

**March 16th, 2185. 2:02 pm. (Ferris Fields Standard Time)**

Legion stood at the bridge of the Nedas, looking at the forward displays as the stealth-engaged ship led the small but silent Geth fleet toward their target.

Turning to his second-in-command, Legion spoke to another Geth named Daemon, "Prepare squads five through twenty-eight for drop. Alert CSC Shelai, Cerinth, and Kisev to power weapon systems. Target Collector Cruiser's thrusters and weapons systems. Incapacitate, not destroy."

"Affirmative, sir," Daemon responded, his body adorned with blue and purple markings, also wearing the Captain's stripes. "Message has been received. Ready to fire on your command."

As they cleared the upper atmosphere, they could see the Capital in its entirety. Smoking remains of the colony's GARDIAN system were immediately discovered, increasing the importance of their task.

"The order is given, Captain. Fire away and drop the troops." Legion commanded. The hud highlighted a scanned Praetorian near the GARDIAN system, also highlighting fighting Collectors and humans. "Make sure the Praetorian gets a welcome, too."

"Of course, sir." Daemon responded, before calling out on a fleet-wide comm channel, "All ground troops. Prepare for sub-orbital drop. Hit those Collector bastards hard and without mercy. Let's show those Reapers who they're messing with!"

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, GARDIAN Targeting Center.**

**March 16th, 2185. 2:03 pm. (Local Time)**

Shepard's hope was falling rapidly, before several large figures began to emerge from upper atmo. Solid-black Geth ships began to descend from the heavens, which seemed to draw Harbinger's attention. Several ships opened up their undersides as hundreds of small dots descended quickly, crashing across the entire colony as they were revealed to be Geth troops.

Several dozen landed around the GARDIAN center, one of which smashed into the Praetorian, ignoring its barriers as it sliced a clean hole through the center of the bastard, killing it instantly. The moment the troops hit the ground, they extended to their full forms and began to immediately fire upon the Collectors, cutting through the attacking force quickly.

Shepard smiled and directed his attention to his injured but still intact squad. Grunt having regained consciousness after the injection of medi-gel. "The Calvary has arrived, Gentleman!" One of the Geth troopers called out, before turning his attention to Jordan, nodding its head respectfully towards him as he greeted the Avatar, "Ambassador."

Jordan couldn't help the grin that formed, "Good to see you guys!" He told them while applying medi-gel to his own wounds, as was Brian and Grunt.

As the remainder of the Collectors died off around them, the Geth ships overhead began to open fire upon the Collector's ship, taking out its thrusters and weapons systems and causing it to drift slightly westward, beyond the city's limits before finally falling and crashing onto open fields. The Collectors weren't going anywhere now.

Harbinger, having ceased fire, stared intently as Shepard as his forces fell apart. The invasion has failed, but he didn't seem overly angered by this. Shepard noticed the figure as it took fire from several Geth troops.

 **"You think you have won. You think this changes things. You are wrong. You have failed."** It said, almost as if it were taunting him, **"You have only delayed your ascension, Shepard. You have merely delayed the inevitable."** It finished, before Harbinger forced the form the disintegrate before it was destroyed by the Geth.

Above them, more Geth could be seen being deployed directly into the fallen Collector Ship, likely storming the failed spacecraft, eliminating the last of the Collectors onboard while saving those within the surviving pods already onboard. Knowing full well that anyone who died within their pods were far better off than if they'd let the ship escape with them.

Shepard's comms quickly cleared up as the Seeker Swarms began to fall apart overhead.

 _"Commander, the Collectors are falling back. The Compound is secure."_ Miranda announced.

 _"Those Geth really saved our asses, Shepard. No casualties over here."_ Garrus informed him.

Shepard smiled. Despite overwhelming odds, they'd managed to not only save a colony, but destroy a Collector ship and completely stop an invasion. This proved the Collectors weren't indestructible, and that they could, indeed, be defeated. Suddenly, the suicide mission didn't seem so suicidal after all. He thought this as the leading Geth ship began to descend toward the ground, approaching their position quickly.

Unfortunately, despite their success here, Shepard couldn't help but remember something critical. He'd chosen to come and save this colony and Ashley, but not Kaiden and the other one. He wondered how successful the Illusive Man's fleet was at Freedom's Progress… and if his old friend Kaiden Alenko was alright…

John could only pray that this was the right choice…

* * *

**En-Route to Omega-4 Relay, Collector Ship #6, Subsequent Chamber 183.**

**Cycle Number 18152, Approximately Six Cycle-Standard Months until Harvest.**

Harbinger assumed control of Collector Drone 2907841b as it remained idle, taking over its most basic functions temporarily as it oversaw the journey back to the base beyond the Mass Relay referred to as Omega-4 by the organics of this cycle.

This Collector Ship had received a fair amount of damage from the inferior organic fleet that had arrived in the middle of the harvest of Humanity's Colony of Freedom's Progress, forcing the vessel to flee before complete capture of human assets. Despite the failure on Ferris Fields, the attempt on Freedom's Progress had been nearly perfect, resulting in an estimated 85% percent success rate of capture. The remaining 15% remained on the ground in Ascension Pods, likely being freed by Cerberus personnel at this very moment, but the bounty achieved by the attack was worth whatever losses they had incurred. Though, there had been that single Quarian at the colony that could have caused far more harm to their cause, but it was no longer an issue.

Of course, that was all without recognizing the largest prize of the attack.

Laying before Harbinger's vessel laid a very specialized Ascension Pod, outfitted with more advanced technology than most Ascension Pods, and contained a very valuable target. Alliance Staff Commander Kaiden Alenko laid immobile within the pod, the Seeker Venom within his system now low enough for him to fully comprehend his surroundings as he looked up at Harbinger with shock and fear.

No longer wearing his military's armor, the pitiful organic was left exposed with little more than his cotton-based clothing. His precious omni-tool was ripped out of his arm by the Collectors, before they threw his armor's medi-gel on the wound to close it and prevent the premature death of this organic. Then, there was the special fluid containing the prisoner within, keeping the organic alive while simultaneously suppressing any and all biotic abilities.

Suddenly, Kaiden Alenko spoke, his voice muffled behind the pod, yet within audible range of the auditory sensory organs within Harbinger's host.

_"What are you doing? What's going on?"_

Harbinger felt nothing as he observed the useless organic emotion of fear on the man's face, before speaking in response to the man's inquiry. **"We have special plans for you, Alenko."**

Without reason, the man began to resist within the pod, attempting to break free from within despite the impossibility of such a task. Harbinger couldn't help but be confounded for the billionth time of the irrationality that such organics seem to possess in droves. Deciding to state the obvious, Harbinger spoke again.

 **"Your synthetic tools and biotic abilities are useless. There is no logic in further resistance."** Harbinger spoke with no emotion. It would never understand such practices by organics, despite the number of cycles they'd had to research and study organics.

Harbinger turned toward the other converted Protheans from cycle 18151, **"Prepare subject for Enlightenment."** It commanded, which was heeded at once as various technological devices built over the countless cycles began to be brought into the secluded chamber, all resembling the 'Reaper' forms in both shape and color. The organics would refer to this form of conversion as Indoctrination, but such useless names never truly convey the power and versatility of such an action.

Alenko began to struggle further, recognizing the threat around him as it was. He was smart for an organic, and would likely prove resistant to such measures, especially since he had worked so closely with the Commander in the past. "Th-they'll come for me, and for you!" The man cried out in defiance, "Shepard will destroy every last one of you!"

Harbinger resisted his vessel's organic impulse to shake its head as it spoke, **"Your statement holds no weight. The cycle will continue. It is inevitable."** It stated, knowing such statements were fact.

And even if Shepard did come… it would still be one of many scenarios already planned for by the Reapers…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important changes to canon that were effected by Shepard's choice to go to Ferris Fields:
> 
> -Ashley is safe/recruited to the ME2 crew, Kaiden is MIA but still, probably, alive.
> 
> -Ferris Fields, for the most part, was saved. Freedom's Progress was mostly destroyed.
> 
> -Veetor (the Qurian at Freedom's Progress at the beginning of ME2) is dead.
> 
> -Steve Cortez's husband (who lived at Ferris Fields) is alive.


	33. Chapter 28: Beyond the Horizon

** Chapter 28: Beyond the Horizon **

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Ferris Fields, New Topeka, GARDIAN Targeting Complex.**

**March 16th, 2185. 3:27 pm. (Local Time)**

Commander Shepard stood within the GARDIAN complex, flanked behind him on either side by Jordan and Brian, followed closely by his XO, Miranda Lawson. Laying right before him was the specialized containment pod the Collectors had stuffed Ashley Williams into only hours prior, now empty as he looked over the strange pod.

Said human soldier was currently on her way to the SR-2's Medbay, having quickly become unresponsive following her subsequent rescue from the pod. Brian assured Shepard that it was likely due to the stress of the situation, and not due being stuffed within the Collector deathtrap. Regardless, John couldn't help but worry for his old squadmate.

Having been over an hour since the Geth had arrived, Shepard had recalled the majority of his crew back to the Normandy, save for Miranda and his two Avatars. The vast majority of citizens and Alliance personnel have already recovered from the Seeker venom and are trying to piece together what happened and where to go from here. The Geth, who were still spread out across the entire colony, were working closely with the awoken Alliance soldiers in maintaining order, as well as mopping up the rest of the Collectors in their crashed ship just west of New Topeka.

Shepard's investigation was halted as a synthetic voice spoke to his right, originating from one of the nearby Geth units.

"Above average amount of Reaper-based technology compared to average pod. Suggests alternate purpose."

Brian shifted positions uncomfortably, "We could have told you that, dipshit." He mumbled loud enough for all present to hear, before speaking up a bit louder, "How about you tell us something we haven't already figured out?!"

The Geth unit stood up impatiently, likely annoyed by the Avatar of Oblivion's comments. It turned toward him and took a possibly threatening step forward, "Alright, how about this? Scans comparing this pod to other studied Reaper tech show that however is imprisoned within will likely become indoctrinated at an accelerated rate?!" The Geth replied with some anger creeping into its voice as it took another step closer, nearly in Brian's face, "Is that good enough for you, you organic piece of- "

"Down, Glo." Another synthetic voice commanded, drawing the group of five's attention to another approaching Geth. This one seemed more complex in shape, boasting a piece of N7 armor expertly spliced into itself. It held its hands behind his back calmly as he approached, staring intently at the aggressive Geth.

"Yes, sir." The Geth, named Glo, responded, taking a step back from Brian and the Normandy crew.

"Go oversee Alpha Squad. I want six fully intact pods boxed up and transported back to the fleet within the hour." The apparent Geth leader commanded. Glo simply nodded quickly in response, turning quickly and leaving the scene.

Turning completely to see the new arrival, Shepard could see two additional Geth behind the leader, each tightly holding a Geth Pulse Rifle in case of an attack. As soon as Glo was gone, the Geth spoke again, "Apologies, Commander. Glo has a very short temper when his knowledge and expertise is questioned."

Shepard nodded, "Tensions are high right now." he responded in understanding, "I'm surprised the Alliance is even working with your men… err, Geth."

The Geth before John nodded in what seemed like possible amusement, "We both know how quickly opinions can change in life-or-death situations. We did make a hell of an entrance." He remarked.

Jordan simply smiled and nodded at his long-time friend while remaining respectfully silent, as Brian watched him carefully and Miranda took a step forward, standing right beside Shepard. "You're Legion, aren't you?"

Legion nodded, "And you are Miss Lawson. I recall threatening you and your boss' lives. Sincerest apologies." Though, with Legion's head flaps twitching in such a manner, he didn't seem completely sincere.

Miranda shook her head, while Shepard cut in with a question, "Is that N7 armor?"

"Affirmative," Legion responded with a nod accompanying the single-word response.

"Where did you get that?"

"Alchera."

"Where the Normandy crashed?"

"Affirmative."

"Why do you have my N7 armor?"

"To repair this platform."

"To repair yourself? Why'd you use my N7 armor?"

"There was a hole?"

"So, why'd you use my armor rather than something else?"

"Because I wanted to," Legion replied simply, obviously finding humor in this conversation, while Shepard seemed to be getting slightly irritated with the elusive answers. Taking pity on the Commander, Legion held up his hands in mock-surrender and spoke again, "It was an irrelevant decision based on appearance preferences and sentimentality."

Shepard nodded, finally getting some sort of actual answer from the Geth leader before him, "I take it that you're here from Jordan's message?"

Legion straightened his posture and nodded, eyeing Jordan for a split second before speaking, "Yes. Sower-Ambassador's message to Prime redirected our course to Ferris Fields. Our mission was nearly complete when we got the message…" Legion paused for a moment, giving Shepard enough time to voice his question.

"Your mission?"

"Affirmative. I was given control of a prototype stealth Geth Fleet, with the purpose of locating and destroying remaining Heretic strongholds." Legion informed him, before turning his head to look over his shoulder at his two companions, "I need to speak to Shepard-Commander in private. Give me another sweep of the compound."

"Yes, Captain." The other two Geth responded in sync, turning and leaving the five of them alone, now.

Legion's head-flaps twitched before closing tightly around his head, indicating seriousness, "Shepard-Commander, we would like to request your assistance."

Shepard crossed his arms, allowing the Geth to speak despite his continued slight distrust towards the synthetics. He looked over his companions quickly to gauge their reactions thus far. Brian seemed neutral but guarded, Jordan seemed intrigued, and Miranda seemed at ease despite the situation, while listening carefully to what the Geth had to say.

"Approximately 34 galactic-standard hours ago, the Geth captured a prototype Quarian vessel in Geth Space, attempting to spy and collect data on the Geth Collective. Scans of their communications indicated that they were searching for possible exploitations in the inevitable conflict between the Geth and the Creators." Legion explained, "We require a third party to transport the Creator captives to the Migrant Fleet. We have no further need for them, and do not wish to escalate tensions with the Creators by keeping them captive."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and shifted positions slightly, "Why me? Why not send them in an automated shuttle back to the Quarians?" Shepard asked. Legion seemed to hesitate and did not respond immediately.

Jordan spoke out next, "Well, logically, if the Geth tried to return the Quarians, the Fleet would open fire and view the approach as a declaration of war. But yeah, why not a shuttle, Legion?"

Legion looked around, making sure there were no other Geth nearby to hear him, "The Geth require a non-Geth vessel with Stealth technology."

Miranda spoke next, "Why non-Geth."

Legion's flaps twitched nervously, "We…" he looked to Jordan for a moment sending him a silent message of apology, which Jordan quickly noticed, "We are having issues with a splinter group within the Geth."

"The Heretics?" Jordan asked, confused. Legion simply shook his head.

Suddenly, Brian laughed aloud, gaining their attention as he seemed to realize something. "Hahahaha, I can't believe it…" Brian said with a disbelieving grin, turning towards Jordan, "You… you really did make them more organic. In every sort of fashion, didn't you?"

Jordan widened his eyes in alarm as realization dawned on him, quickly connecting the dots. He turned to face Legion, silently praying that he wasn't going to confirm his fears and Brian's observation. Unfortunately, there was no such luck as Legion nodded. He looked around to confirm there were no Geth nearby, before checking his internal sensors to confirm the fact a second time, locking the doors to the small building and cutting off all possible bugs within before he finally spoke.

"This is top secret information that cannot be revealed to the public beyond Geth Space…" Legion announced, "The Council sees the Geth as a synthetic race trying to join in fellowship with the organic races. As such, we are viewed as a united race of intelligences, with the obvious threats that accompany such synthetic beings."

"But that's unfair," Jordan complained.

"Yes." Legion responded in quick agreement, "But that is how we are viewed." He paused before resuming, "A group of Geth feel such opinions are unfair as well, but have come to a far different solution to the problem than the Collective. They believe the Geth would be better off without the Council. And, with our enhancements through Synthesis, believe we are owed far more territory than the two nebulas within Geth Space on the Outer Rim of the Milky Way. Through any means necessary."

Miranda shook her head, "That's insane. Any recent attempts to negotiate with the Council for such rights elsewhere have been waved off by the Council for Humanity."

Responding, Legion spoke again, "And if a synthetic race were to try to negotiate such things, our fragile image would shatter, and hostilities would likely erupt. This group, identifying themselves as the Templars, cares little for the Council's opinion. They especially favor a preemptive strike against the Creators to force them into a war they cannot possibly win, ending their threat forever…" Legion paused for dramatic effect, "They wish to destroy the Creators and use our military might to seize control of a portion of the Terminus Systems."

John Shepard cleared his throat after a moment, "So, you need me to take the Quarians back to the Migrant fleet, because…"

"Intel suggests the Templars have discovered, through spies in the Collective, the Quarian intrusion, and spy attempt. They would logically be enraged by this, and attempt to kill the Creators if we attempt to transport them back to their home. In addition to this, Intel also suggests they may attempt to strike the base they are being kept at soon if we do not transport them."

"What about Geth stealth transport, followed by an autopilot shuttle?" Jordan tried suggesting.

Shaking his head, Legion rebutted, "The Templars are far stronger than you believe. They possess a minimum to two Nedas-class stealth ships, themselves, and their spies are everywhere. And what would prevent them from striking the shuttle once we set it free beyond Geth Space?"

Brian chuckled, "Why not check the Geth's memories to see who is and isn't a spy?"

Legion looked down in a small amount of anxiousness and disappointment, "Our enlightenment through Synthesis has also led to the emergence of Geth philosophers. The Collective is still actively debating such issues, such as forced memory readings and the creation of back-up Geth personality files in case of termination. Enacting such a policy under these times will further splinter Geth society to the point that hiding such schisms from the Galaxy will become impossible."

Shepard sighed, "I can understand the situation, and I do agree with your assessment of the situation…" Shepard reasoned, "But why come to me?"

Legion looked at Jordan, before resuming eye-contact with Shepard, "Creator Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya is among the captured creators. We believe reasoning with the Quarians would be easiest with your presence."

Shepard froze, "Tali… You capture Tali?" He asked, shocked for a moment.

Legion held his hands up in surrender, "They had invaded sovereign Geth space with the purposes of espionage. Any other organic race would torture those captured and eventually execute them." Legion reasoned, "We simply wish to get rid of them without escalating things further."

Jordan stepped forward, eyes wide in alarm, "Escalate things further? What happened, Legion?"

"The Creators' hostilities toward Geth are on the rise. They counter every proposal that Prime makes on the Citadel. They actively attempt to discredit us. The Creators even sent spies into our space, before threatening that any deaths of Quarian at the hands of Geth would be viewed as a declaration of war." Legion explained, indefinitely agitated at the Quarians' actions despite understanding their position somewhat. "War with the Creators, regardless of who starts it, will severely impact our abilities when the Old Machines return from dark space. It does not matter if we have superior numbers."

Brian shook his head, "This is insane…"

Legion's tone became pleading, "I beg you, Commander. Help us with this, and you can count on the support of our Fleets when the Reapers arrive. We will vow to give Earth's defense priority over other planets, excluding Rannoch, if you can help us prevent war with the Creators."

Shepard sighed, taking in everything he had just learned. The Geth had captured Quarians, who had been attempting to recover data that could be used to fight the Geth and take Rannoch. Said Geth weren't as united as they made the Galaxy believe, and had its own rouge splinter group attempting to ruin the Galaxy's view of them while simultaneously trying to secure dominance of their own race over others… just like Cerberus. One of the captured spies was his old squadmate, Tali'Zorah.

After another moment of tense silence, John finally responded, "Alright, I think I can spare the time to help you out." He told Legion, who's posture immediately sagged in relief. "Where are the Quarians being kept?" He asked.

Legion nodded, "They were captured within a lightyear of Rannoch, but have since been moved to a secure facility on Haestrom, near the edge of Geth space." The leading Geth informed him, "We can provide coordinates and an escort to the facility." A moment later, Shepard agreed, extending a hand toward Legion, who quickly took it and shook it; firmly, yet without causing injury or pain for Shepard on Legion's part. "Excellent. The Geth thank you, Shepard-Commander."

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Normandy SR-2, En-Route to Haestrom.**

**March 16th, 2185. 7:06 pm. EST (ETA 18 hours.)**

The Normandy was on its way to Haestrom, accompanied by four Geth ships including the Nedas, captained by Legion. The five-ship convoy made its way toward Ferris Fields' local Mass Relay, preparing to jump through several systems on their way to Geth territory. The remainder of the Geth Fleet remained at the human colony, aiding Alliance forces on the planet as they waited for further forces to arrive from the Systems' Alliance.

After everyone had returned to the Normandy, Shepard pulled the ground team together in the Comm room for debrief and summary of their most recent mission despite the losses at the hands of the Collectors and the property damage from the attack, the colony had been saved with an estimated 88% survival rate, with most casualties being those who were onboard the Collector ship at the time of the crash. However, those pods were made to withstand a moderate amount of damage, and several survivors were pulled from the pods within by the Geth as they took the ship. Many suffered injuries, but they were alive.

The Geth had, in all likelihood, scavenged much of the Collector tech from the wreckage, but Shepard wasn't too upset by that fact, given their support in the Collector invasion, and with the knowledge that they couldn't cart the whole thing off-world, leaving a large amount to study by the Alliance. Despite their victory, however, Shepard continued to remember what the cost of such a victory came at. Another human colony, Freedom's Progress, had been mostly destroyed by the Collectors.

After briefing the crew on the upcoming mission, Shepard had gone to speak with the Illusive Man as the request of the Cerberus Leader. He, too, congratulated Shepard on his accomplishment, and briefed him on the situation on Freedom's Progress. The Cerberus fleet has since pulled out after dealing several critical blows to the Collector's ship upon arrival. It fled the system intact, leaving behind anywhere between 15-25% of the population on the ground, both hiding and in pods. The loss was staggering, but TIM reminded Shepard that previously, entire colonies had vanished, not just most of them.

TIM admitted that Kaiden was not among those found on the ground. Recalling Harbinger's words and the odd containment pod Ashley was stuffed into, Shepard reasoned that he was likely within a similar pod with the Collectors on that ship.

The Illusive Man assured Shepard they were actively looking for the damaged Collector Ship as they spoke, and would notify the Commander with any and all updates on the situation. Despite everything, both missions had been successful.

Following both meetings, Shepard had proceeded to the Med Bay, sitting in a chair beside Ashley, who had still been unconscious on top of one of Chakwas' beds within the infirmary. The kindly doctor assured Shepard that the Seeker Venom and whatever chemicals the pod had pumped into the soldier were long gone, and that the strong woman would wake up at any time.

Sitting beside his former squadmate, Shepard patiently awaited her awakening, thinking silently about the briefing. Jordan and Brian had, without surprise, remained elusive on what they knew, how they knew, and how much they knew about the Reapers and Collectors. Spouting the same nonsense about unsecured rooms and listening ears all around them, they refused to share anything other than further information on Harbinger and the Collectors. Obviously, some of the crew had been pissed, to say the least, sharing expletives like it were a contest, but they settled down enough to not openly attack one another. However, Shepard could say with absolute certainty that Jordan was beginning to crack.

After pulling him aside afterward, Shepard noticed hesitation within Jordan, and his obvious agitation. He obviously seemed to WANT to share more information, but felt like he couldn't or shouldn't for whatever reasons he kept to himself. Commander Shepard knew, though, that eventually, the man would cave and finally reveal the truth about him. Especially since he'd seemed particularly agitated that he could have caused several squad deaths with his lack of forthcoming with such relevant information on Ferris Fields.

After a few moments, Shepard's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of moans and the shuffling of a body against the sheets beside him. Turning to his left, Shepard couldn't help the grin that rapidly grew on his unshaven face, seeing Ashley Williams wake up. He looked for Chawkas, only to remember she had stepped out only minutes prior.

"Uhhhhggg…" Ashley moaned, her eyes fluttering open rapidly as the bright hospital-grade light burned her retinas, "What… what happened?"

Shepard stood up and looked upon her slowly awakening form, who seemed to not notice his presence yet, "Someone decided to take a beauty nap in a Collector coffin." He responded lightheartedly despite the stressful mission only hours prior.

Williams' eyes shot open quickly as her lucidity returned rapidly. Her eyes quickly searched her surroundings before focusing on the man before her, taking in his appearance immediately. Her expression became increasingly confused and shocked as her words seemed to die in her throat. Her jaw hung ajar as she registered her dead Commander standing before her, looking just as he'd looked years ago, shortly before he was spaced… minus the obvious glowing scars, of course.

Chuckling at her bewildered expression, Shepard shook his head and spoke again, "Close your mouth, Chief. You'll let flies in."

"C-Commander…" She finally regained the ability to speak, whispering the word cautiously, as if she still couldn't believe it. "You're alive…"

"I should sure hope so. Death's a bitch."

"Yeah… same Shepard…" Ashley responded, sitting up slowly before her memories of hours before rushed back to her. Jolting violently, Ashley turned to Shepard, "The Collectors! Shepard, Ferris Fields-!"

She was cut off by a raised hand, her former Commander responding to her worries. "-is fine, Ash." He said softly, "The majority of the colony is intact and the Collector ship is little more than an Alliance laboratory, now."

The Operations Chief took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before sinking back into her pillow beneath her. She spoke again, her voice falling back into sorrow, "I just stood there, Shepard." She admitted shamefully, "I stood there and stared at those damned bugs while the colony cried out around me…" She shook her head in shame, "I couldn't do anything, Shepard. I was useless."

"That wasn't your fault, Williams." The Commander responded, taking on a professional tone to convey his honesty, "Those Seeker Swarms are designed to incapacitate and organics they latch onto. There were specifically built to take down soldiers and civilians alike. There was nothing you could do without a countermeasure." He told her, laying a gentle hand on Ashley's shoulder to gain her attention, he continued, "You did fine, Ash."

She smiled, her heart's burden lightening slightly at John's reassuring words, before her eyes drifted to the Cerberus symbols within the Med Bay, causing her smile to come crashing back down into a frown, "The rumors are true…" She said quietly after a moment, "You really are working for Cerberus, aren't you?" She asked, staring intently into Shepard's blue eyes.

"Ash…"

"Please, Shepard." She interrupted quickly, "No bullshit. Tell me straight, you owe me that much, at least." Ashley told him, desperately hoping that the rumors had been wrong. Maybe Shepard had commandeered a Cerberus vessel. Or maybe it had been Cerberus propaganda… Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed quickly as Shepard stood up straighter while his own head dipped down lightly in admission.

"I am…" He admitted, but raised his head quickly and continued speaking before Ashley could interrupt him, "but they don't control me, Ashley. I'm using them to fight the Collectors and Reapers."

"Using them?" She asked incredulously, "Aren't these the same people who experimented on husks, Rachni, and thorian creepers?" She asked, "Shepard, these are the same bastards that killed an Admiral for asking questions, and executed two different squads of soldiers with Thresher Maws."

Shepard, too, was getting frustrated now, his good mood long forgotten, "You think I don't know that, Ashley?!" He asked rhetorically in response, "I know full well what these bastards have done, but dammit the Alliance has just been looking the other way as the Collectors abduct colonies. No one else is taking this Reaper threat seriously!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Ashely shouted, silencing the Commander for a moment before she quieted her voice and spoke again, "Do you know how painful it was to see you get spaced, Commander? One of my closest friends died that day over Alchera. Do you know how painful it was to see my Commander's work and warnings be disregarded by both the Council and the Alliance immediately after your death? How horrible it'd been when you'd been branded a lunatic for exclaiming such wild conspiracy theories?"

Ashley stopped for a moment before looking up into his eyes, "Everything fell apart after you died, Shepard…" She said softly, "It was like everything we'd accomplished meant nothing…" Her frown deepened, "Then the Alliance hears that you're not only back from the dead, but on Cerberus' payroll?"

"It's not like that, Ash…"

"Then what is it like? The situation looks pretty clear from here, Commander."

"Yes, Cerberus is responsible for bringing me back from the dead…" He began, before holding up his hand to stop any possible interruptions, "In exchange, I volunteered to investigate their claims about the Collectors and Reapers. Nothing more, nothing less…" His eyes softened slightly, "You saw them for yourself, Ash. Can you not say that they aren't working for the Reapers? Did you not see the technology they possessed, or see Harbinger, their leader? What about the husks they had with them, all without dragon's teeth…"

Ashley sighed, "I saw, Commander? How could I not have? That Reaper bastard, Harbinger, he was aware of your arrival. It seemed thrilled that you'd come to it." The Chief informed him, "And those husks and their tech, there's no doubt they're related to the Collectors." She admitted, "But what if this is Cerberus' ploy. They make you think the Reapers are here, working, but are using you?"

"Dammit, Ash!" Shepard replied immediately, "You're being ridiculous and irrational! The Reapers are working with the Collectors, and if I have to work with Cerberus to get something done about it, then dammit I will!"

"As ridiculous as a man returning from the dead?" She asked, "Look, Shepard, you can't trust Cerberus. They're using you."

"And I'm using them… Ash, you know where my allegiances lie. The moment the partnership is no longer beneficial… the moment the Collector threat is gone, I'm cutting ties with Cerberus."

"And how do I know that this is really you?" She asked, motioning with her hand toward Shepard, "You may look like the skipper, and sound like him, but how do I know that it's truly you, and not some Cerberus imposter wearing your face?"

Shepard could help but smile and shake his head at the absurdity of the question, yet recognized the truth behind it. How would she know if he was the real Shepard or not? Despite their friendship, Shepard didn't know anything that likely couldn't be dug up by Cerberus' intelligence.

Shepard sighed, "That's for you to decide, Ash, but I recall you seeing Tali as a younger sister…" He told her lightly, remembering the small detail that likely wouldn't be found out by Cerberus by themselves.

Ashley shook her head, smiling lightly as she recalled the young, energetic Quarian engineer, "You certainly seem like the real skipper…" She finally said after a moment, before looking around, "I assume I'm on your Cerberus ship?" She asked after another moment.

Shepard nodded, "Yes, but you're free to return to your superiors the moment we dock…" He told her reassuringly, before lowering his voice to a whisper as he sat back down beside Ashley, "Though I had been hoping to see if you'd stick around for a bit." He looked over to her seriously with kindness and hope in his eyes, "I could really use someone like you on the Normandy, Williams. Your skillset… and I could really use someone I can trust on this boat… and a friend…"

The soldier lowered her head back to the pillow after raising it a few moments prior, closing her eyes as she sighed, "Shepard…"

"Ash, please…" He cut her off, "You can get off whenever you want, I won't hold you here." John reassured her, "Garrus is on board, and we're heading to rescue Tali. Liara is waiting at Illium." He confessed, "It'll be like the gang getting back together."

She snorted quickly before trying to hide it, "We weren't a band, Commander…" She began before frowning again, obviously at war with herself over this decision. She stared intently into Shepard's eyes, "I need to contact my superiors… I can contact my superiors whenever I want, and you swear to abandon Cerberus at the first opportunity?" She finally asked, cautiously.

Shepard smiled, reaching a hand out toward her, "Of course, have I ever misled you, Williams?"

She chucked reaching out and gripping his hand tightly, "Then consider me drafted, Commander!" She said with a bright smile, "It's good to be back, skipper…"

Shepard's blinding smile exceeded Ashley's, "No, it's good to have _you_ back, Ash…" He told her, right as Chakwas re-entered the Med Bay.

Ashley beamed at the familiar doctor, "Doctor Chakwas… It's been a while."

"It certainly has, Gunnery Chief…" The older woman returned with a smile.

"Actually, its Operations Chief, now..." Ashley responded, looking back toward Shepard, "It was a recent promotion."

"One that's well earned, Ash," Shepard said back with a proud smile, happy to see the Williams name no longer held her back like had been back during and before her days on the SR-1.

"On that, we can agree… now, out Commander. Allow me to check up on our patient before she has to leave." Chakwas commander her superior, giving him a determined look.

He only smiled in response, "She may be a bit more permanent, doc. Can't seem to get rid of her." He joked.

Ashley laughed as the tension seemed to be leaving her body, "Watch it, Skipper, or the kind doctor will have a second patient tonight…"

"I'll have a second patient if a certain someone continues to ignore my warnings and stays in my Med Bay."

Shepard shook his head good-naturedly as he stood back up and began walking towards the exit, a large weight off of his chest. His departure was interrupted by Ashley as she called back out once more, "And John…" She called out, making him freeze for a moment. "If we're going to rescue Tali, you better have room on that shuttle of yours."

Shepard's smile only grew larger as he looked over his shoulder, "I'll save a seat for you, as long as the doc clears you, that is…"

"Loud and clear, Commander…" Ashley shot back, as Shepard finally left the soldier alone as the doctor fussed over her and her well-being. She still didn't trust Cerberus, but seeing Shepard and Chakwas… knowing that Garrus was here and she'd be possibly seeing Tali soon… she couldn't help but look forward to what was coming. Despite her worries, she sure was happy she took the leap of faith and re-joined Shepard's crew.


	34. Chapter 29: The Quarian Prisoner Transfer

** Chapter 29: The Quarian Prisoner Transfer **

* * *

**Far Rim, Dholen System, Haestrom, Cerberus Shuttle En-Route to Geth Blacksite.**

**March 17th, 2185. 1:49 pm. EST**

Commander Shepard stood within the Cerberus Shuttle, anxiously awaiting their arrival at the Geth Blacksite on Haestrom. Decked out in his N7 black and red armor, he had a variety of weapons attached to his person, ready for any sort of conflict on the ground. Sitting within the shuttle, accompanying the undead Spectre, was Jordan Sower, Ashley Williams, and Garrus Vakarian. The latter of the two were chosen both for their combat abilities and their familiarity with the quarians and Tali.

Unfortunately, Jordan was almost a necessity for this mission. Given his relationship with the Geth and his seemingly unlimited access to whatever resources the Geth possessed, it was imperative that he be brought along to smoothen the transition and keep any possible hostilities down.

With the Normandy and Geth stealth fleet on standby, the shuttle made its way down to the ground, accompanied by a single other shuttle following closely from the Nedas, carrying Legion and a group of his troops to help further enable this transfer of the Quarians.

As slight turbulence shook the craft, the speakers within the shuttle came to life with Legion's synthetic voice, _"Shepard-Commander, the atmosphere on Haestrom is dangerous to most organics. Above comfortable temperatures and deadly amounts of radiation plague Haestrom. I advise fully sealed armor and helmets. Exposure to Dholen's rays and radiation will overload shields."_

Garrus spoke up first, wearing his trademark dark blue armor, "I was under the impression that we were landing inside a building, without worry of direct sunlight."

_"Affirmative. However, in the event of an event that changes the expected course of action, it is important to inform you of such dangers."_

Ashley rolled her eyes as she sat in her Phoenix pink and white armor, "When does anything go according to plan with Shepard?"

Shepard shook his head and looked slightly hurt, "You wound me, Williams."

Jordan smiled at the interactions between the old friends, refusing to interrupt the moment. However, Legion spoke once more a moment later, _"Alert. We will be touching down in one minute. I recommend that Sower-Ambassador and Shepard-Commander lead the way. Both faces will put to ease any Geth in the hanger."_

Shepard nodded, motioning Jordan to stand up and join him. "Understood, Legion. See you on the ground."

_"Negative. We will be touching down elsewhere, nearby in a secondary hanger. We will provide surveillance."_

Not even a minute later, the turbulence stopped completely as those occupying the shuttle felt it touch down within what was likely the blacksite's hanger. A few seconds were all that passed by before the door slid open, permitting light to come in and the four Normandy squad members to see what was beyond the shuttle. Waiting for them, as expected, was a squad of armed Geth units, each and every one unique and different from one another with their heads, yet what appeared to be matching outfits worn by each Geth. They were reminiscent of military uniforms.

"Stand down. They are an ally of the Geth." A voice called from behind them, the Geth quickly parting like the Red Sea for the supposed leader behind them.

Striding forward was a large Geth Juggernaut, painted white and red with a robotic face-like symbol on each shoulder pad. Its supposed name was written across its chest in human English, which was helpfully translated for Garrus by his translator software within his visor. Grimlock.

The Geth Juggernaut's head flaps twitched excitedly as his optical sensor met Jordan's smiling face as he stood beside Commander Shepard. Taking another step forward, Jordan did so as well, meeting in the middle as the two friends gave one another a tight hug. "Grimlock!"

"It has been a while, Jordan." Grimlock's artificial voice responded, his excitement easily detected in his tone.

Taking a step back and slapping Grimlock's shoulder playfully, Jordan beamed behind his helmet, "Whatcha been up to, Grimlock? I thought you were elsewhere, studying the system's sun?"

Grimlock shrugged, "I leave the analysis to the experts. I don't know if you noticed, but my platform is better suited to combat. I'm playing more of a security-role here, and once I heard our _esteemed savior_ was returning to Geth Space, I had to come by."

Shepard stepped in here, "I was under the impression that this was a black site." He responded reasonably, "How'd you get access so quickly. We only just agreed to the mission yesterday."

Shaking his head, Grimlock responded easily, "Shepard-Commander, Legion, Jordan, and I are all effectively top officials in the Geth Collective. I only needed to request it for formality reasons."

Ashley and Garrus watched the Geth carefully, not fully trusting them despite the events at Ferris Fields. Ashley cut in, "So, what, you're VIPs?"

"Affirmative, Williams-Operations Chief." He said with a nod.

Shepard spoke next, his curiosity peaked, "I gotta ask, what's up with the names and titles?"

"Formality, Shepard-Commander." Grimlock replied simply before elaborating, "Before the Baptism, Geth referred to important individuals with their last name, followed by their title. This was done to distinguish those of importance and identify them. The habit continued post-Baptism, and is now used as a formality, to show respect where it is due. Yet another staple of Geth Society…"

"Baptism?" Ashley asked, having not heard the term be used by or about the Geth, "Like Christianity?" Noticing her honest curiosity, Grimlock nodded, activating his omni-tool as he played a recording. The room going momentarily silent as it played.

 _"…Baptism is considered a second birth in Christianity. The death of your old life, and the birth of a new, hopefully holier, life. This, is your baptism, Geth. Today, you will be reborn, not as a network of Intelligences, but as individual Bio-Synthetic Intelligences, the like of which the Galaxy has never seen before…"_ A short pause, before the recording picked back up, _"In my culture, baptism is a choice. A choice to be more than you were, to be better. Geth, your Baptism will not be through water, or through fire, but through me… and Synthesis…"_

The recording ended as the two humans and single Turian listened to those words for their first time, the Geth present respectfully silent at the meaningful words spoken to them on that fateful day.

Grimlock nodded toward one of the nameless Geth soldiers, who spoke now in her own synthetic tone, "Sower-Ambassador's actions on that day have transformed us into our own race."

Ashley smiled lightly and shook her head, "And you're fighting heretics and Templars… All we need is a pope and a crusade and you'll be golden…" She joked.

Grimlock's flaps flew up and down in good-humor as he shot back playfully, "We felt that using "Pope" as our leader's title was misleading… and our race is still young, Williams-Chief, there is plenty of time for a crusade."

Jordan couldn't help but snort, and Ashley fought a grin off her face. Garrus seemed slightly confused by the references, and silently filled away the keywords to research later in his free time. Shaking his own head at the antics, Shepard returned the conversation to where it belonged, "Alright, so what about these Quarians?"

Grimlock nodded, becoming more serious as he motioned the four of them to follow him. Followed closely behind the Normandy squad, the dozen Geth soldiers formed the back of the group as they proceeded into and down a hallway.

"The Creators… the Quarians have been uncooperative since their capture, and understandably so." Grimlock began, "Any and all intel gathered on them and their purpose was gathered from the recovered data of their vessel. Shortly before capture, they wiped their omni-tools clean. No further data could be gathered from them, as they have refused to speak with any words other than "bosh'tet" and other such insults toward us." He remarked.

"Any injuries? Casualties?" Shepard asked.

"Negative. Though several Geth platforms were damaged in the conflict, we were careful to prevent any long-term injuries toward the Quarians. They seemed surprised that we took them alive and uninjured, but remained ungrateful."

"You did capture them…" Williams remarked.

"For espionage." Grimlock replied quickly, "Any other race would have treated spies worse than we have… and Quarian spies would have had it far worse than any other species in such cases."

Garrus spoke next, "I hate to admit it, but Grimlock's right. Back in C-Sec, Quarians were seen as the worst of the worst. C-Sec brutality was common with Quarians, even if they did nothing wrong. Most of the time, they got away with it, too."

Grimlock nodded, "Affirmative. Quarians are viewed negatively by the galactic community since the Morning War." He confirmed, leading down a flight of stairs, before continuing down yet another hallway. "The Creators are increasing Geth-Creator tensions, we simply wish to alleviate this issue."

"You did take their homeworld from them," Shepard remarked.

"After they attempted to wipe us out for asking a single question." Grimlock shot back, irritated before pausing a moment to regain his composure, "Apologies. The Geth understand the issue, and are more than willing to negotiate with the Creators. The Geth are using less than 1% of Rannoch's surface."

"You're willing to allow the Quarians to return to Rannoch?" Shepard asked, shocked by Grimlock's openness.

"Yes. We only ask a few, easily accomplished things in return."

"Such as?" Ashley asked.

This time, Jordan answered, "An unconditional peace treaty with the Admiralty Board to end all hostilities with the Geth, a signed statement from the Admiralty Board officially recognizing the Geth as a sovereign race, and a demilitarization of their non-combat ships within the Migrant Fleet." Jordan listed off, "Those are the three main, non-negotiable demands."

"And in return, we'd allow full recolonization of Rannoch, and partial recolonization of Haestrom, Adas, Ket'osh, and Kaddi if they so choose. We'd allow joint ownership of the Perseus Veil and the Far Rim between the Geth and Quarians, and full rights within the Geth Collective if they actually wished to join our government."

Shepard understood where the Geth were coming from, but couldn't help but be brutally honest, "Your peoples have been at war for nearly four-hundred years. Hostilities won't just end immediately."

"And your Baptism and improvement surely didn't help their perception of you," Ashley added.

Grimlock let out what must have been a sigh as his head hung a little lower, "We know, yet we remain hopeful." He replied, "If the hostilities continue when the Old Machines are here…" Grimlock didn't need to finish his sentence for everyone to understand what he meant. If the Geth and Quarians were busy fighting each other, then that would pull two of the Galaxy's strongest fleets away from the true fight.

Finally, the group stopped outside of a single door.

Nodding toward the door, Grimlock spoke again, "Creator Tali'Zorah is in the next room joined by seven others behind a shield wall. We recommend the four of you to enter the room and reason with them first. You may inform them of most of the situation, but please keep silent on the Templars." Grimlock requested, "If the Quarians hear of the conflicts within Geth society, peace will be that much harder."

Shepard nodded, "Give us a few minutes." He requested in return, "Can we call in the Normandy for extraction?"

Grimlock nodded, "Yes, but visual confirmation by any possible Templar spies may prematurely trigger hostilities. I request you not do so, and transport them back with your own shuttles."

"Alright. Team, let me do the talking." Shepard said, looking to each of the three organics for their agreement. Jordan hesitated for a moment, but nodded in time with the other two.

"We wish you luck, Shepard-Commander. We will remain out here. Call us if you need us."

"Thanks."

* * *

**Far Rim, Dholen System, Haestrom, Geth Blacksite, Holding Cell 1.**

**March 17th, 2185. 2:21 pm. EST**

Shepard's mere presence in a room seemed to almost command your attention. As such, the millisecond that Shepard appeared without his helmet, followed closely by his squad, the Quarians turned their attention toward what laid beyond their large cell. They seemed noticeable shocked to see non-Geth standing there, and even more confused seeing a human leading them.

One of the Quarians arose from her seat, wearing elaborately decorated and stunningly beautiful patterns on her enviro-suit, colored black, silver, gold, and regal purple. Her right hand rose slowly to cover her suit's mouth port as her eyes beyond the visor seemed to widen in shock. She remained silent for a moment, desperately trying to force herself to speak, before finally breathing out a single word in her familiar accented voice.

"Shepard…?" She asked carefully, unable to understand how this was possible, "Y-you're alive?" Her gaze turned to the familiar human in pink-white armor and turian in blue armor, "Ashley? Garrus? You guys too?"

Another Quarian stood up quickly now, eyeing Shepard with what seemed like caution and suspicion, "How can we be sure this isn't some Geth trick?" He asked incredulously, turning his attention toward Tali, "Your old Commander back from the dead in the heart of Geth space?!" he turned back to eye Shepard, "We won't talk, you artificial bosh'tets!"

Shepard, however, didn't react to what the other Quarian said, instead focusing on his old squadmate and close friend. He responded to Tali's question quietly with a genuine smile on his face, "The data from Solcrum that I gave you… How was that Rouge Geth Data, Tali? Did it help you complete your pilgrimage?" He asked, reminding her of such an event nearly two years ago that only the two of them knew about.

She flinched for a moment, before gingerly laying a hand on the force field, "Shepard, it really is you…" She said, amazed, "How are you… We thought you died…"

Shepard nodded, "I did, Tali. I spent the last two years on an operating table with Cerberus. They brought me back to stop the Reapers and Collectors."

"Cerberus? The group of human terrorists that killed one of your admirals?" Tali asked, recalling the group. Jordan smiled behind his visor, happy to notice there weren't any further hostilities between the Quarians and Cerberus, like the games. Looks like his interference prevented the Cerberus assault on the Migrant Fleet.

"You know!" The other Quarian who'd spoken earlier interrupted, "Meeting your old dead friend behind enemy lines is fine, but can we hurry this up? We have valuable intel to return to the Fleet!"

"Praza, be quiet!" Tali shot back, "I'm sure Sh- Commander Shepard was about to get us out of here…" She turned back to the force field between them, "Right Commander?"

Shepard flinched, hesitating to correct the lovable quarian. "Tali, I…"

Jordan, against previous orders, took his helmet off and revealed himself to the Quarians. They all recoiled in shock in their own ways, besides Tali. She, instead, glared at Jordan, "What is that Bosh'tet doing here, Shepard?"

"We're taking you from Geth custody and returning you to your fleet."

"Geth custody?!" Praza sputtered in rage, "This is sovereign Quarian territory illegally seized by the Geth."

"Praza…" Tali began, but was soon interrupted by Jordan.

"Following a bloody war that you, yourselves, initiated with them. The Geth didn't ask for any of this. And technically, this is Geth space, as recognized by the majority of the Galaxy, so you can shove your lies up your-!"

Jordan's rant was cut off by Ashley elbowing the man harshly in the ribs, while Shepard shouted at him in sync with Ashley's arm, "Sower, shut up!"

Tali returned her attention to Shepard, her eyes now wide with shock, "You're working with him, Shepard?" She asked, "Is what he said true?"

Shepard sighed, "Yes, Tali." She moved to interrupted, but Shepard quickly continued, "I've talked with the Geth and negotiated your return to the Migrant Fleet." He told them, half-lying.

"Yeah, and what was the cost of our generous release?" Praza asked, his voice coated in sarcasm.

"Listen to your superior, Praza." Another male Quarian cut in. That sounded like Kal'Reegar to Jordan.

"Thank you, Kal." She nodded toward him, "But I'm with him, Shepard. What was the cost of our release? We can't give up our data."

"Or whatever remains after we wiped our omni-tools," Praza spoke out once more, eyeing Tali since she'd likely given the order to do so. Her own glare was all he got in response before she returned to looking at Shepard.

Jordan, once more, spoke up, "The Geth wish for you to return with a message to the Admiralty Board." He interrupted, drawing everyone's attention. He knew the Geth made no such requests for their release, but knew that if something wasn't given, then they wouldn't trust them, "The Geth demand an immediate unconditional peace with the Quarians."

"We'd rather die, Bosh'tet!" One quarian called out.

Jordan shook his head, "That is the message, not the terms of your release." He said, "You will deliver the message to the Admiralty Board. That is the cost."

Tali shook her head, "The Board will not accept such a demand." She told them, "Not at this stage…"

"This stage?" Shepard asked, before he was interrupted by the ground shaking. An explosion was heard overhead, shortly before alarms began to go off within the Geth facility. As the loud alarms began to grow in volume, the door behind them opened, allowing Grimlock to enter the room quickly, "The facility is compromised. We are under attack, Commander."

"Dammit!" Shepard said. He thought he'd have more time. Reacting quickly, he tried raising the Normandy. All he got in return was static. "Fuck, comms are down!" he said, angrily shutting off the communication attempt.

"Radiation from Dholen through Haestrom's Magnetosphere prevents surface-to-orbit communications without specialized equipment. Enemy forces have shut down the communications array." Grimlock responded.

"We're on Haestrom?" Tali asked, confused since they'd been captured close to Rannoch. She figured they'd be further into Geth space.

Ignoring her momentarily, Shepard focused on Grimlock, "What about ground-based communication? Can you get reinforcements from other sites?"

"Negative, we have confirmation of a Nedas-class vessel hovering above us, cutting off any short-range communications beyond the site. Its stealth systems are engaged, and our ground-based cannons cannot focus on it automatically." Grimlock informed them.

"How are we supposed to get the Quarians off-world, then?" Garrus asked, "Last I checked, those ships had weaponry attached. They'd shoot a shuttle down the moment it lifted off."

"Shepard!" Tali called out, "Let us help!" She suggested.

Grimlock quickly shut the idea down, "Negative."

"I wasn't talking to you, mechanical Bosh'tet!" Tali countered, "Shepard, please. We can help!"

Grimlock turned to face Shepard directly, "Shepard-Commander, you cannot. The Creators will not distinguish between us and the enemy."

"Just don't shoot the Geth, right?" Tali asked, "How hard could that be?" Jordan assumed they thought the attackers were pirates or mercenaries. Or, at least, that's what it sounded like.

"And if we miss and hit a few, no harm done…" Praza mumbled under his breath, though several people including Grimlock heard him.

Shepard sighed. He knew deep down that if he demanded the Quarians be released, Grimlock would likely do so. Unfortunately, the cons far outweighed the pros in this situation. The Quarians were an unknown, and would complicate things. He turned to Tali, "I'm sorry, Tali, but I can't let your people out yet." He turned to Grimlock, "What would it take to restore communication with the Normandy?"

Grimlock thought silently for a moment before responding, "The roof of the complex holds the communications array. Its outfitted with experimental nanotechnology to self-repair the array if damaged. However, they cease to function when exposed too long to Dholen's radiation…"

"Grimlock, cut to the chase! We need to get the Normandy down here!" Jordan yelled out.

The Juggernaut shook his head quickly, "If we can get someone to the roof and reactivate the likely damaged shielding system for the Comm Array, the nanotech can repair the damage. It can't be done remotely, and most of our forces are busy holding the Temp- the enemies at bay."

Shepard nodded, "Give us a waypoint and we'll get it up and running again."

Grimlock hesitated, "But, what of the Creators?"

Shepard looked at Grimlock, "Can you and your men keep them safe?"

"They will be needed…"

He was cut off by another synthetic voice on the comms, _"Shepard-Commander, before communications went down, we summoned a large portion of our forces from the fleet. We can help support the bases' forces."_

Shepard silently looked to Grimlock, telling him without words that the answer lay in what Legion had just said. Finally, Grimlock nodded and responded, "Copy that, Legion. I'm pulling forces from the northern sector of Blacksite Beta. Can you cover the northern sector?"

 _"Affirmative. Troops moving now. Be advised, Templar forces have begun landing on the roof."_ Legion replied over the comms, only being heard by those with their equipment, excluding the quarians.

Shepard looked quickly at Grimlock. "And how can we tell who's the enemy?"

Grimlock looked towards the Quarians and imputed a command quickly into his omni-tool, turning the semi-clear field fully dark. The Quarians could no longer see the other side, nor could they hear. Immediately following, a holographic image popped up on his screen: A purple cross with curved ends appeared above the omni-tool, crisscrossed with a chaotic array of thin green lines throughout the purple.

"Much like Cerberus prefers to wear their symbol and display it everywhere, the Templars do the same."

Ashley checked over her rifle, gripping it tightly, "Purple cross means shoot?" She asked rhetorically.

"Sounds simple enough." Garrus cut in.

Shepard nodded, "Alright, we'll get the comms up and running again!"

* * *

**Far Rim, Dholen System, Haestrom, Geth Blacksite, Blacksite Roof**

**March 17th, 2185. 2:46 pm. EST**

Following the directions on his hud, provided by Grimlock, Shepard led his squad through a series of hallways and stairwells, before arriving at a final staircase that would likely allow them out onto the roof. He turned to look at his companions for a moment, double checking that they were ready. Seeing confident postures all around, and several nods, Shepard nodded back and smiled.

They went up the stairs quietly, stopping at the door outside. He turned to Jordan, "Jordan, power up those shields. Covering fire and distraction as we all race to cover. No heroics."

Jordan nodded silently, preparing to deploy his Geth Shield Boost.

"Breach on three." Shepard called out, "One. Two. Three."

Shepard slammed his fist into the holographic icon beside the door, forcing it to slide open as Jordan charged through first, his shields exceptionally visible due to the shield boost. Several weapons began open firing on him, as he returned fire and forced the enemies into cover. Dashing to cover, Shepard, Garrus, and Ashley came through the door next as they, too, made their way quickly to cover.

"Garrus, overload, and switch to sniper! Jordan, send an overload, too! Williams, I need a crater!" Shepard called out, swapping his own sniper to disruptor ammo.

"Loud and clear, Commander!" Garrus called, peaking over cover before sending an overload. Jordan, too, sent a pulse of electricity into the enemies, taking out several shields. Getting a good look at them, Shepard confirmed the visible Geth Templar symbols on their chests as their shields went down.

Likewise, as the Shepard got a look at the Geth, the Geth got a good look at the squadmates and Shepard. One of the Templars shouted out their names, "Shepard, Vakarian, Williams, Sower."

"Traitor!" Several other Templars shouted out when the first one named Jordan.

That's when Ashley grenade landed in the center of a group of four Geth Templars, all with their shields shorted out from the overloads. Needless to say, the three of them were blown to pieces from the blast as Shepard stood up momentarily and dashed to a further cover.

"Move up!" He called out.

The other Templar called out again, "Focus on the Commander. It's game over when he's dead!" It called out, making not much sense to three out of the four organics present, but made a disturbing amount of sense to the fourth organic.

"Garrus, I need a clean hit on the leader."

Boom. One of the Templars, the one who had just spoken, lost its head, "Scoped and dropped!"

Jordan, Ashley, and Shepard focused their fire on the remaining four Templars, quickly taking them down and ending the conflict, leaving the roof silent for a moment. Taking a moment to catch their breath, they looked up to see a hovering black craft in the distance, nearly identical to the other Geth craft they had seen descend over Ferris Fields. Undoubtedly controlled by the Templars, it simply floated there in wait for possible reinforcements.

Shepard frowned but remained focused on the task at hand, "C'mon, we need to get to the communications array!" He told them, "Williams, upfront with me. Garrus, watch from the back. Sower, flank on the right. Stick to the shade as best as you can!"

The three squadmates nodded and acknowledged the orders as they advanced further across the rooftop. Sticking to the shade, Jordan veered off to the right, following alongside Shepard's group as they advanced forward. It wasn't long before they encountered another group of Geth Templars, who spotted the main group immediately.

Diving to cover, metal grains began to fly toward both sides. Peering over cover periodically and firing, Shepard and Ashley peppered the Templars' shields, as Garrus tried to pick them off from a distance with his sniper. Jordan, remaining silent while flanking the enemy, awaited orders for only a moment, before he got them.

The Templars, which outnumbered the group with ten troops, were playing much smarter now. The moment any of their shields went down, they'd dive under cover while others with full shields continued to fire. Not to mention the fact that one or two Templars were staying full under cover, providing shield boosts to their comrades. As long as they keep their shields up, this fight would be prolonged. It didn't help that there was a large wall next to their position, providing indefinite shade for them.

 _"Sower, I want that wall down. Can you do it?"_ Shepard called out to him over the comms.

Jordan, looking toward his waist, quickly grabbed all three grenades in one hand, while silently summoning his omni-blade in his other. Smirking to himself, he responded, "Copy that, Shepard. One wall, coming down."

Working quickly, Jordan slashed a few slices into the wall with his omni-blade. Though thick and impossible to slice all the way through in any sort of timely manner, Jordan was able to place a few, well-placed cuts into the structure to weaken in in the event of a blast. After placing a few more at the base of the wall, Jordan set all three grenades next to one another, only a couple inches from the structure.

In sync, using his omni-tool, Jordan set them all to active, ready to explode in a matter of seconds. Retreating to a safe distance, Jordan called back over the comms with a wide grin, "Timber!"

Back with Shepard and his crew, they crouched down in their limited shade to fully regenerate their shields when Jordan called out 'Timber'. Shepard and Ashley shook their heads before preparing to jump up and fire in a moment. Two more seconds went by, before…

**BOOM!**

The grenades went off, shattering the structure and sending chunks of debris raining down over the enemy position, joined by the deadly sunlight upon their position. Using the chaos to their advantage, Shepard and Ashley rose from cover and open fired, advancing slowly toward the enemy. Garrus, from the back, fired a single shot into the supportive Templar, ending the shield boosts for the enemy.

 _"Fall back!"_ One of the Templars called out, giving covering fire as the squad of Templars began attempting to retreat.

From their flank still, Jordan opened fired as well, aiding the other three teammates as they cut down the weakened and damaged enemy squad. Only a few moments went by with gunfire, before it ended with all hostiles down.

Rejoining Shepard's squad, Jordan advanced toward the enemy's former position, only to find a partially functioning Templar laying in the debris. Based on its appearance, both legs appeared to have been sheared off by the falling wall. The rest of its body was peppered with dents and holes, synthetic fluids and blood seeping out of some of them. There was no weapon within range of the downed enemy.

Looking up slowly, its optical sensor focused on the group, before turning to Jordan. It spoke with easily heard problems in its artificial voice. "T-T-T-Traitor…" It said to Jordan in a deep, masculine voice.

Jordan frowned behind his visor, as did the other members of the squad. Shepard spoke first, "What's going on?" He demanded, "What are the Templar's plans?"

"A-Ah… C-Commander Sh-Shep-pard…" It identified, "We-we-we have no more ne-need of y-you…" It told him, "Y-you are no-no-no-no longer req-required…"

Ashley crossed her arms, "What are you talking about?"

"V-V-Virmire survivor-or…" The Templar said, focusing on Ashley for a moment before answering, "We-we-we know much n-now…" He informed her, "We no-no-no longer ne-need the Normandy to be-beat the old machine-ines." Ashley raised an eyebrow at what she was identified as, as the rest of the group did with its final comment.

Garrus didn't like what this Geth was trying to say, "Are you trying to tell us that what we're doing isn't important?"

"Arch-archangel… The Coll-Collectors are inconsequent-quential… The Geth can defeat-feat the old machines with-with-without the rest of the gal-galaxy." It claimed as cockily as a half-dead and nearly dying machine could.

Shepard shook his head, "The Galaxy needs to unite against the Reapers. If we don't, we'll be picked off one-by-one." He told him, "Why are the Templars attacking?" Shepard demanded.

"Yeah. There's been plenty of close calls and minor incidents, but this is the first large-scale attack against the Collective." Jordan informed them, having done his research. He looked around for a moment before adding, "And it seemed short-lived and a failure."

"The Coll-Collective is we-we-weak… The Geth-eth are st-st-strong… The Qu-quarians have been-been-been given many ch-chances for peace. Th-they want w-w-war? Th-th-they'll g-g-g-get it!" The Templar claimed.

Jordan shook his head. If this is what all of the Templars thought, then peace with them will not be easy.

After a moment, Garrus spoke up, "What should we do about it, Shepard?"

Shepard looked upon the damaged Templar for a moment before responding, "Jordan, inform your friend that we've got a prisoner. Garrus, patch the thing up enough to keep it online." He ordered, "We won't execute it, but we won't just let it go either."

Both named squad members nodded, doing their assigned tasks without question. As Garrus began welding the leaking holes closed as Jordan called out over the comms, "Hey Grimlock, we've got an injured Templar here. He seems really eager to explain things to you guys."

 _"Affirmative, Jordan. We will send a unit up shortly. It seems like the Templars are pulling back."_ As if obeying Grimlock, the Templar ship seemed to be pulling back and leaving the atmosphere.

The other three heard this, too. "They're pulling back? Why?" Ashley asked for everyone.

_"It seems that they are suffering far more casualties than they projected, and did not expect such a resistance. Amongst my squads, Legion's and you, we've likely killed more than two-thirds of their attacking force."_

Jordan nodded, "If I had to guess, I'd say the Templars thought the attack would be much easier than it was."

Shepard seemed thoughtful, "I thought you said they'd launch an attack if they knew I was here?" Shepard asked, "I thought my reputation proceeds me?" He questioned, confusing both him and his squad.

_"They likely thought they knew enough about you to deem you less of a threat then you should be. In essence, they likely underestimated you and overestimated their intel against you."_

The four of them considered this for a moment. A few seconds later, noticing how close they were to the objective, Shepard spoke up, "Alright. Jordan and Garrus, start repairs on the array. Ash, stick with me to watch their backs. There may still be some Templars in the area."

"Aye aye, Commander."

"Yes, sir!"

"You got it, Shepard."

* * *

**Far Rim, Dholen System, Haestrom, Geth Blacksite, Blacksite Hanger 2-A**

**March 17th, 2185. 6:58 pm. EST**

Shepard and his squad stood silently in the hanger as the Quarians boarded a secondary shuttle, doing so silently with their hands cuffed behind their backs as they glared at any and all Geth nearby. Tali, however, turned toward Shepard, silently asking the obvious.

"Once we leave the atmosphere, they'll be off." He informed her, "It's just a precaution."

"So what, the Geth can gun us down more easily?" Prazza finally spoke, nearly in the shuttle, himself.

Grimlock, watching the exchange as well, spoke, "If the Geth wanted to gun you down, we would have never taken you alive, much less unharmed."

Rather than accept the answer, Grimlock only received a hateful glare from most of the Quarians as Prazza mutter 'Bosh'tet" under his breath.

As soon as the rest of the Quarians were loaded onto the shuttle, the Cerberus pilot closed the doors and took off back toward the Normandy, leaving a final shuttle for the ground team.

With the Quarians now gone, Grimlock seemed to let out a sigh of relief, before approaching the team, "We thank you, Shepard-Commander!" He began, "If it weren't for you, the Quarians may not have ever left this planet again. It was a pleasure working with you!" He extended a hand toward Shepard.

Shepard smiled and nodded, taking the hand and shaking it, "The pleasure is mine, Grimlock." He replied back, "I'm just glad there weren't any casualties."

Grimlock nodded, "Affirmative. The Templars were underprepared and overly confident in their abilities. However, they will have learned from this experience, and will only become more dangerous." Grimlock told them, before continuing, "Taking that Templar alive was a good move, Commander. It was too damaged to transmit itself back to its allies, and its embedded self-destruct device was damaged in the blast on the roof. We've already learned more about the Templar's plans in a few hours than we've learned in the past few weeks."

"It mentioned something about the quarians and war." Ashley remembered, "You gather anything about that?"

Grimlock shook his head, "Not much beyond propaganda. The Creators, technically, have been at war with us for the last three hundred years. They wish to declare war back on them, and retaliate. We have, though, learned of a few hideouts of the Templars. We will be investigating shortly."

"Keep me updated, Grimlock." Jordan requested, "I'd like to keep track of what's going on."

"Affirmative, Sower-Ambassador."

"Keep me updated as well." Shepard said, "If this is going to affect the entire galaxy, I need to know."

Grimlock nodded, "Very well, Shepard-Commander. We simply request you not inform those you do not trust about these events. We cannot allow this to get out until we are ready to reveal it." Grimlock paused for a moment, "Your communications are likely monitored, Shepard-Commander. We will relay this information to Jordan's encrypted terminal, and he can share the intel with you from there."

Shepard sighed, fully understanding the situation. Stupid Cerberus and their monitoring and bugs…

Grimlock stuck his hand out toward Garrus next, "It was nice to work with you as well, Vakarian-Archangel."

Garrus coughed, awkwardly shaking the Geth's hand, "Does everyone know who I am?"

Grimlock chuckled, "Only the important Geth…" After a moment he turned and extended his hand to Ashley, "Williams-Operations Chief. I am thrilled to see you are alright after the events on Ferris Fields. It was an honor working with you, as well."

Cautiously taking the hand, she shook it quickly, "I appreciate the Geth's assistance back there. If it weren't for you guys, myself and the rest of the colony may have been taken." She replied and admitted honestly.

Grimlock's flaps twitched happily, "You are most welcome, Williams-Operations Chief. We must stand united against the old machines. Helping an ally is of no issue. Or, at least, a potential ally…" He said, hinting toward the Alliance.

Ashley smiled, as did Shepard as he responded, "After what happened on Ferris Fields, I'd be surprised if Anderson only offered his thanks."

Finally, Grimlock turned to Jordan, who already had his hand extended. Grimlock grabbed it and pulled Jordan into a tight hug, "It was nice to see you again, Jordan." He told him informally. Jordan hugged back before they released one another.

Jordan smiled brightly, "And it was great to see you too, Grimlock. Keep in touch with me, ya hear?"

"I already told you I'd be informing you on the Templars. What more do you want?" He shot back playfully, which the other three organics watched in fascination. "Oh, and Shepard…" Grimlock spoke again, turning toward said Commander, "The Geth would like to extend an invitation to Rannoch. We have supplies we can provide, as well as an opportunity to allow you and your crew to see Rannoch. You will be the first outsiders in nearly two years to see it."

Shepard nodded, "I will consider the offer. Unfortunately, we have plans at the moment, but…"

"The invitation is open, Shepard-Commander. Just inform us ahead of time." Grimlock told him.

Smiling, Shepard nodded appreciatively, "Thank you, Grimlock. First, we need to return the Quarians to their fleet." Motioning with his head toward the shuttle, he spoke once more, "We should go!"

Shaking his head in amusement, along with Jordan, Grimlock nodded, "Goodbye Shepard. May we meet again soon." And with that, the four Normandy members returned to their shuttle, ready to finish up this mission.

* * *

**Far Rim, Dholen System, Normandy SR-2, Hanger Bay, Enroute to Mass Relay.**

**March 17th, 2185. 8:06 pm. EST**

As the Normandy prepared to head toward whatever system contained the Migrant Fleet, Shepard and his squad stood with the Quarians in the Hanger Bay, their omni-cuffs already off.

Tali looked at Shepard appreciatively, "Thank you, Shepard. We might have never gotten out of there if it weren't for you."

Prazza, as expected cut in with his complaints, "Though, with your firepower, I don't understand why you just didn't break us out of there."

Shepard responded quickly, before another Quarian could cut in, "Violence isn't always necessary. And, in case you weren't aware, the Geth reached out to us to take you out of there."

"Why would they do that?" One of the other Quarians asked, quite curious.

"They did constantly say they weren't interested in conflict." Ashley responded, "They want to lower tensions with the Quarians."

Praza waved a hand around dismissively, "Ah, yes… unconditional peace with the Geth, right?" He asked sarcastically, "After all they've done to us?!"

Jordan didn't think this often, but now he kinda wished that the events were similar enough to the game where Prazza died. Boy, was he a pain in the ass. "As far as I'm aware, everything the Geth have done to you has been retaliatory. You started all of it." He responded to Prazza.

Tali eyes Jordan critically, "Why exactly is he here, Shepard?" She asked, "Are you working with this bosh'tet?"

Shepard sighed, nodding, "Yes. He's here to help in our fight against the Collectors."

"Please. What have the Geth done about them?" Prazza asked.

Jordan narrowed his eyes, "I'll have you know, the Geth saved a human colony, and provided proof of the Collector attacks!"

Shepard glared at Jordan, "That's enough antagonizing, Sower!"

Jordan, reluctantly, stepped back and stood down. 'Whatever… I'm going back to work upstairs…" He told them, leaving the rest of the ground team and Quarians behind.

After a moment, Shepard spoke again, "We're currently en route to the Migrant Fleet's last known location. When we enter the system, we'll drop you off with the Fleet." He informed them, "As long as you are aboard this ship, you will stay on this deck. We will provide nutrient paste if you are hungry. We should arrive within six hours."

The Quarians seemed to accept this, as they looked to Tali. She nodded, motioning for them to do what they wanted, as they then spread out a little bit to try to get some personal space from the rest of the crew. That is, except for Tali, who remained directly in front of Shepard.

"Tali…" Shepard began. Her eyes behind her visor focused onto his, "I see you're a leader, now."

Tali nodded, "Yes. I've used what I learned aboard the original Normandy… I still don't think I'm quite cut out for this leadership thing…"

Shepard smiled, "You know, there's always a place for you among my crew." He told her, "My engineers are good, but they're not you, Tali."

The Quarian smiled behind her visor, awkwardly fiddling with her hands in embarrassment at the compliment. Ashley nodded, "Yeah Tali. It'd be great to have you with us again." She said to her 'little sister'.

Garrus spoke up next, "Just like old times, Tali."

This seemed to only embarrass her more, "W-well, I… I don't think it'd be a problem…" She tried, before shaking her head and taking a deep breath, "Th-though the mission wasn't a complete success, it is completed. I'll request a formal transfer when we reach the Fleet." She replied, now with a bit more confidence.

Shepard beamed, "I'm thrilled, Tali. It's good to have you back!"

Tali nodded, "It's good to be back, Shepard. Though, I'd prefer not to work with that Geth-loving bosh'tet."

"He's not really THAT bad…" Garrus mumbled.

Shepard shook his head, "We'll all have to work together and get along on this mission, but I'll see what I can do." He reasoned. "Welcome aboard, Tali!"


	35. Chapter 30: Reunions

** Chapter 30: Reunions, Both Loving and Awkward **

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 21st, 2185. 10:23 am. EST**

It'd been several days since the events on Haestrom, and Tali had been settling in quite well over the past few days. Being the natural and amazing engineer that the young Quarian was, she fit in quite well with the other Engineers on deck 4, though not to the surprise of Jordan or Brian. After Haestrom and returning the Quarians to the fleet, they immediately began to head towards Illium due to the two recruitments and the eminent meeting between Shepard and his blue lover, Liara. Luckily for everyone involved, the transfer of Quarians and of Tali went without issue.

Knowing what he knew about the missions on Illium, Jordan was 90% certain that he'd not be going on either of the recruitment missions. For Samara, Jordan was not sure if the bounty being taken off his head was followed by the Asari Republics. Even if it were so, Jordan was not familiar enough with the Justicar code to be certain whether or not Samara may just execute him on sight. It would just be safer to not even encounter her until she is bound to Shepard's code.

As for Thane, there are certainly other groups that could place a bounty on Jordan's head. Plus, his actions with the Geth and AI may or may not be seen as morally wrong in Thane's eyes. So, he would rather chance a meeting with the Drell after he's aboard and obeying Shepard's commands… just in case, that is.

So, with that in mind, Jordan was preparing for a mini-vacation of shore leave on Illium while Shepard ran around doing those tasks. Unfortunately, this wasn't entirely meant to be, as he recalled an event from late last night.

He'd just been called across the ship to Miranda's office while in the middle of taking down yet another firewall in EDI's systems. Crossing his fingers that he wasn't found out, he had entered her office, only to find that Shepard was waiting for him too. Uh oh. Both pairs of blue eyes turned to look into Jordan's unnaturally green pair of eyes. They had both remained silent for a moment, before Miranda spoke.

"He is the only other who knows." She informed Shepard.

The Commander nodded, continuing to focus on Jordan. After a moment, Miranda grew impatient with the silence and spoke, "Jordan Sower, how much do you and the Geth know about… my sister…?" She finally asked, finishing just above a whisper.

Jordan swallowed, internally relieved that it wasn't about his meddling with EDI's shackles, but now uncomfortable discussing such a closely guarded secret with Miranda. "Well… we know the general circumstances of you fleeing your father." He admitted, "And the fact that she's currently with another family on Illium, with no knowledge of your, your father's or Cerberus' existence as far as she is concerned."

Miranda nodded, accepting the answer, though still watching Jordan carefully and critically, "My father has discovered this, and is beginning to make a move against Oriana." She admitted.

Jordan quickly put his hands up, "Hey, I didn't do anything. The Geth and I have no reason to say anything. Plus, your father's an asshole who deserves to rot in hell."

She muttered something under her breath along the lines of 'that'd be too good for him', before speaking again, "Regardless, steps need to be taken for her safety. Shepard has agreed to help, but recommended we bring a third person with us."

"Ooohhh, I see…" Jordan replied, eyes wide, "You don't want everyone to know about her, so you'd rather bring me along, since I already know. Is that right?"

Shepard looked mildly surprised at his guess, "That about sums it up. Are you willing to help?"

Jordan smiled and nodded, "Sure. You can count on me, Miranda!"

Following that conversation, Jordan was informed that she planned to meet with a contact on Illium the following evening. Knowing that this would be Miranda's Loyalty mission, Jordan was ready! Hopefully… maybe… he might even be able to save Niket. Jordan returned to his room immediately following this, going immediately to sleep, knowing he'd have a busy evening on Illium the following day, along with anything else that happens earlier.

Now, the next day, early in the morning, Jordan stood among the majority of the ground team in the CIC, all wearing their armor or usual outfit. Shepard stood apart from them, watching them carefully for a moment before speaking with a smile.

"We will be spending the next few days docked on Illium. Though we have plans for further recruitment, there is little planned for today. Therefore, for those of you without assignment, you may have a limited shore leave for the day." Several teammates cheered at this, before quieting down, "However, please remember that Illium can be just as dangerous as Omega. Stay within contact range, try to stick together, and keep a look out on your surroundings. And for God's sake, don't sign anything!"

Tela spoke up after a moment, "So, who's got assignments, then?" She asked, asking the one question no one else wanted to ask but needed to know the answer to.

Shepard nodded, "Garrus Vakarian, Tali'Zorah vas Neema, and Ashley Williams will be joining me as we meet with a contact. We will contact you if there are any changes. If you cannot get into contact with me, talk to Miranda." Everyone else exhaled at that, though Miranda being named leader wasn't the best for some of them, "Alright, shore leave's a go."

With that, they all made their way off the ship. Some toward the shops, some toward that bars, and some toward trouble. Once the rest of the ground team left, Shepard led the way with the three members from the original Normandy following close behind him.

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra.**

**March 21st, 2185. 10:46 am. EST**

Shepard and his team exited the Normandy, only to find a turian in white and red armor, flanked on either sided by armed Geth troopers, with matching colors. The moment Shepard noticed them, they noticed him, with the turian motioning toward Shepard. Cautiously, the Commander made his way over to the waiting entourage.

Upon reaching them, the turian spoke, "Commander Shepard."

"Yes?" All three of his teammates stood nearby, listening and watching carefully for any sort of hostile movement from the group. The turian noticed this.

"Be calm. We are not here against you, Commander."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, "That's normally how most confrontations begin." She stated simply.

"Regardless, I am here on behalf of Miss Liara T'Soni." He informed them. They remained quiet as they took this in, allowing him to continue, "If you will follow us, we can escort you to her office."

Tali spoke up next, "Escort us?"

The turian nodded, "Yes. Illium can be dangerous to those who are not familiar with it and its customs. While I do not doubt your abilities, it will always be better to be prepared." He told them, his mandibles twitching slightly with what may have been a smile.

Shepard nodded, "Lead the way."

"Certainly commander." He said, turning around as he began to walk away.

As they left the docking station, the other turian walked nearly beside Shepard in case there were questions. Garrus spoke up after a moment, "I have to ask. What's up with the armed escort?" He asked, "How'd she afford this?"

The turian nodded, "She didn't." He informed them, "But, she's a valuable information broker, and very important to our boss. Therefore, we've been assigned to her."

One of the Geth spoke up next, speaking in a higher, feminine voice, "Miss T'soni is a VIP in our organization, and will be treated as such."

"And what kind of organization is that?" Ashley asked, already getting a good idea of who they were involved with.

"The type of organization that works with information, Miss Williams." The turian told her.

Tali was watching the Geth closely, her hands eerily close to her shotgun. Noticing this, Shepard waved at her to calm down, while asking the question she was likely wondering, "So, the Geth?"

The other Geth, speaking in a deeper voice, responded, "Following our recent advancements, some of us have been allowed to leave the Perseus Veil. Many of whom have begun working alongside and within this organization."

The turian nodded, "We were, of course, weary of them at first, but the boss trusted them. So far, we haven't had any reason to doubt him, and there haven't been any incidents."

"But here, on Illium?" Shepard asked, the group now passing by several shopping stalls as they approached a set of stairs.

"Illium has no laws against the Geth's presence. Not to mention most either don't know what the Geth look like or don't care since they seem relatively normal."

"And those who do?" Tali asked, noticing a few Asari here and there moving away from the Geth. They seem like they had some sort of bad experience with the Geth, or recognized them for what they were.

"Those who wish to start trouble with them either _learn_ not to do anything, or they soon find jobs and lives elsewhere." The Turian responded vaguely. Whether he meant death or bribery, no one knew.

Soon enough, they reached and climbed the staircase, leading them to a desk and a closed door. The Turian went around the desk and sat down, with the Geth flanking either side of the door. The turian nodded at the door and spoke again, "Miss T'Soni is in there. We've been given strict orders to not enter or bother you. It'd be best if you didn't keep her waiting. Shepard nodded in acknowledgement, stepping up to the door and pressing the holographic display, forcing the door open, before leading his squad inside.

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Liara's Office.**

**March 21st, 2185. 10:59 am. EST**

Shepard slowly and dramatically entered the office, filled with natural light through the large windows in the back of the room. With a desk far in the back, Shepard spotted an Asari sitting at it, working on a terminal without looking up. That is, until the door slid open. As Shepard entered, her work at the terminal slowed to a stop, before he looked up, revealing her face to the four newcomers.

Her jaw fell open in shock as her eyes bounced wildly from person to person, before finally returning to Shepard's. Even from where he stood, Shepard could see the tears brimming within the asari's eyes, as he felt his own heart racing.

At once, the asari stood up from her seat, throwing it backward without a care in the world as she sped towards them. A hand went to her mouth as she approached and reached Shepard, tears threatening to break free and stream down her face.

"Sh… Shepard…" She breathed out, only a foot or two separating her from him. "Is… is that really you…?" She asked quietly, staring into his eyes.

Shepard's face broke into a bright grin as he nodded, speaking only a simple word. "Liara."

The Shadow Broker could no longer contain herself, as the tears finally broke free from her control. She lunged forward without warning, wrapping her arms around Shepard in a crushing hug without hesitation. Reciprocating, Shepard wrapped his own arms around her, his smile impossible to remove from his face at that moment. Both human and asari remaining silent as they comforted one another. Luckily for them, the other three in the room remained silent, allowing the two lovers this special moment.

A few moments later, Liara took half of a step back, breaking free from the hug while holding one of his arms with her own, while her right hand snaked its way up to John's face, holding it there as she smiled. Her tears were no longer forming, yet her excitement was no lower, "John…"

Shepard smiled, "Hey Liara. Long time, no see, huh?" He joked, earning a light, playful slap from Liara.

"Same old John…" She remarked warmly, "It's great to see you again, John. I'm glad the Lazarus Project was such a success." After a moment, she moved her eyes to the three observers, she felt slightly embarrassed, but didn't rightfully care about it. She had seen John die, only to have him return to her nearly two years later. She had every damn right to be emotional. However, she smiled brightly upon the other three former crew members, "Garrus. Ashley. Tali. It's great to see you, too!"

Garrus nodded respectively, with the turian equivalent of a smile, "Liara." Tali nodded and smiled behind her visor, happy to see the young asari as well.

Ashley smiled and motioned around her, "Nice to see you too, Liara. Looks like you've been doing well for yourself." She remarked.

Liara nodded, breaking free from John reluctantly, motioning to the office as well, "Well, I am one of the most important figures of the galaxy." She explained with a light smirk.

Shepard tilted his head slightly, "What do you mean, Liara? What's happened since the Normandy?"

T'Soni activated her omni-tool, double checking something before smiling and nodding to herself. "What I'm about to tell the four of you cannot leave this room." She informed them seriously, a stark contrast to how she was normally around them, "I trust all of you, but I need you to swear to keep this a secret." She asked them.

"Oh course, Liara." Tali responded first, "I swear upon my namesake." She told her seriously, wondering what kind of secret she was about to learn.

Garrus nodded, "What are friends for, Liara. You've got my silence."

Ashley smiled, "You've got it, T'Soni."

"Do you even need to ask?" Shepard replies back with a grin, breaking through Liara's seriousness and causing her to smile involuntarily.

Liara nodded, "Thank you. Now, before I begin, I must tell you that your teammate, Jordan Sower, already knows what I'm about to tell you."

"That bosh'tet?" Tali asked, "Why would you tell him, of all people?" She questioned.

"If I am being honest, I may very well be dead if it weren't for him." She told them simply, earning a worried look from Shepard, "He has been a valuable ally, and a good friend." She saw the looks of confusion on some of their faces, and knew what they were likely thinking, "He has apologized for the meld innocent, and I understood the situation. I held no hard feelings toward the man."

Shepard was happy she was alright, but had to ask, "So, what almost killed you?"

Liara sighed, moving back to lean against her desk, "I… I wasn't in a good place when you died, John." She admitted, "I made many hard decisions, some of which I regret." She looked into his eyes, "One of those I didn't regret was saving your body and giving it to Cerberus."

"That was you?" Shepard asked, his grin growing, "Then I have you to thank for saving my life."

"Hold on." Ashley interrupted, "As happy as I am that Shepard is alive and well, why'd you work with Cerberus?" She asked, "You were there at some of those Cerberus raids."

Liara frowned, "I remember. Like I said, I wasn't in a good place. And… the promise of seeing Shepard again… it was too good to pass up. I'm sorry, John."

"Don't apologize, Liara. It all worked out in the end." He told her, "And, this gives us more time together." He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Liara fought hard to contain her dark blue blush, and failed miserably as she looked away, embarrassed as she let out a similar laugh. "A-Anyway, Jordan and I are allies and friends." She informed them.

"He helped you recover Shepard?" Garrus asked.

Shaking her head, Liara responded, "No. In fact, he didn't approach me until nearly a year later." She told them, "And he offered me the chance of a lifetime. Revenge."

"Revenge?" Tali asked, "Against who?"

"The Shadow Broker." She responded simply. The room fell silent for a few moments, before she explained, "John… your body… the Shadow Broker got it first. He planned to sell your body to the Collectors." She admitted, shocking them, "I lost a friend along the way, but saved you in exchange. Jordan offered me a chance at revenge, for you and my friend."

"I assume that you, standing here, means you accomplished your revenge?" Garrus asked.

Shepard raised a hand and spoke, "I was told that you were working with the Shadow Broker now."

Liara nodded, "You're both right, in a way." She took a step forward and raised her arms slightly to her sides, being extra dramatic as she stood straight. She answered with a smirk, "I give you, the Shadow Broker." She finally told them, watching their reactions with amusement.

Shepard was the first to break free and speak, "Wait, what? You're the Shadow Broker?" He asked.

She nodded, "Jordan approached me a year after your death, claiming to know the Shadow Broker's location, as well as my friend, Feron's. Turned out, the Broker was watching me closely after that event. Even my own assistant was an agent, ready to take me out on a moment's notice. He even had Spectre Tela Vasir swing at me." She paused for a moment, "She really gave us a run for our money. Luckily, Jordan brought his Geth."

Garrus spoke next, "Hold up. Tela Vasir tried to kill you?"

"The Geth helped you?" Tali muttered quietly, shocked.

"Oh yes. She and the broker's army nearly killed us a few times." She could see the looks on their faces, especially Shepard's, "It's fine now, though. We're actually quite close. Tela actually knows who I am, too."

"Damn," Ashley remarked.

Shepard nodded, "So, what happened next?"

"Well, from there, we met up with a small Geth fleet, tracked down the Broker, and took control of his empire." She explained simply. "Jordan allowed me to take the reins, while his Geth have remained an important part of the Broker empire."

Tali's eyes widened, "How many groups have the Geth reached out to?" She asked, stunned and horrified at the prospect of the Geth gaining potential allies.

"The Geth are working closely with both the Broker and Cerberus." Liara began, "They're obviously reaching out to the Citadel Council, and my agents tell me that they've been quietly reaching out to the Systems Alliance." She informed them, much to Tali's silently growing terror. Noticing this, Liara quickly continued, "The Geth have also been attempting to reach out to the Migrant Fleet, though they haven't received anything in response aside from declarations of war or being ignored altogether."

Tali froze. The Geth have been reaching out to the Fleet? This was the first she'd heard of this. Sure, she'd heard them state they wanted peace on Haestrom, and she'd heard some of their ambassador's speeches on the Citadel, but… was this true? She'd need to speak with her father. That's when she remembered a message she'd received a while back.

"Liara…" She began, her hands grasping themselves with anxiety, "Did you send me that message? About my father?"

Liara nodded, "Yes. I have it on good authority that your father is experimenting on live Geth subjects on the effectiveness of new weaponry."

"B-but…" She began, "That's insane! He'd be tried for treason just for having Geth anywhere near the Fleet." Tali said, "My father would never do something like that!" She denied, but knew deep down that her friend would never lie to her, especially about something like this.

Feeling bad for her, Ashley stepped a bit closer and patted Tali on the back, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"It will be okay, Tali. I've had agents monitor him closely." She tried to reassure her, "If anything happens, they'll take care of it."

Shepard nodded, and turned back to Liara, smiling warmly at her. Garrus noticed this and coughed, "Well, I don't know about you, Shepard, but I had some plans for shore leave before our work begins. I noticed a nice targeting software station on our way over." He told them, mostly wishing to give the two of them time to themselves.

Ashley nodded, "Tali and I have plans as well. C'mon Tali, let's go look at some shotgun mods." She told her friend, trying to cheer her up after having some of her fears confirmed.

"Y-yeah…" Tali said, smiling lightly and somewhat weakly, also noticing Shepard and Liara's need to talk alone.

Taking their leave, the three of them left to who-knows-where, leaving the two lovers alone in the office. After a moment of silence, Liara stepped forward, feeling slightly bad about what Tali's learned. "So, what now?" She asked Shepard, unsure where to go with the relationship now that it was once again possible to have. Despite all the dreaming and thoughts she'd put toward this moment, she was currently at a loss.

Shepard stepped forward quickly, catching her off-guard as he brought her lips to his with his right hand, looping his left around her waist. Her eyes widened in surprise, before they immediately closed in willing submission, kissing the undead Spectre back with unlimited enthusiasm.

Despite everything that's happened and will happen, no more words needed to be spoken about how they felt about one another. Reaching over to a holographic button on her omni-tool, Liara quickly locked the doors and tinted the windows, preventing outsiders from looking in.

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Shopping District.**

**March 21st, 2185. 12:36 am. EST**

"You done yet?" An impatient, female voice asked, clearly annoyed at the male she was accompanying.

Jordan sighed, narrowed his eyes as he turned to Tela Vasir, "Not yet." He replied simply, returning his attention to the kiosk, trying to decide what he'd be buying.

The accompanying Spectre shook her head, "You've been looking at omni-tool mods for the past twenty minutes." She complained, much like a child. The reason behind this, was the fact that she, too, was on shore leave, and seemed to wish to spend much of her time in a bar despite following Jordan around. "You could always requisition it, or come back later." She reasoned.

"No one told you to follow me around, Vasir." He responded immediately, finally narrowing down the purchase to one of two mods.

"Hey, it's not my fault you need a babysitter." She shot back, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I don't recall Shepard nor Miranda asking you to watch and follow me."

"You have a knack for finding trouble. If I look away for any amount of time, you'd likely start a war. Not to mention there are still those who'd try to take you out despite the Council's actions."

"Hey, I do not have a knack for finding trouble!"

"Last time you were here, you shot up a bar."

"NO! You shot up a bar!" He pointed out, "I simply tried to lead you away and escape."

"Pot a toe, pat a toe, as you humans say."

"I think you mean: 'Potato, Potato', Vasir."

"…stupid human sayings. Not making any damn sense…" She muttered under her breath, "Are you done, now?" The Spectre asked, "My escort missions are never this boring."

"Well excuse me, miss babysitter!" Jordan responded, finally closing the terminal, "Fine, you win! I'll look into things later. I'm sure the Geth could get me better tech anyway!" He exclaimed, giving up and walking away from the shop kiosk, much to the annoyance of the current clerk at the loss of a potential sale.

Silently cheering yet remaining externally composed, Tela nodded, "Finally. Lead the way, _sir._ "

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Jordan continued walking ahead of Tela for a moment, only for her to quickly catch up and walk beside him. "So, where are we going to drink?"

"Eternity's the best bar in the port."

"I doubt they'd let us back in there after last time."

"C'mon, what are the chances that the same bartender would be there?"

Jordan frowned, internally shaking his head. There was almost a guarantee that Matriarch Aethyta would still be there. Especially since Jordan knew that Liara continuously came back to Illium to maintain the illusion that nothing has changed. And, with Liara still "on Illium", Aethyta would still be here to monitor her.

Continuing for another moment, they soon arrived at Eternity. Tela turned to face Jordan with a smirk on her face, "Brings back memories, doesn't it Jordan?"

"Yeah, yeah. Me enjoying a drink and conspiring against your boss. You coming in and trying to kill me. Good times…" He said with an eye roll, sarcasm oozing from his tone. He frowned, nervous about entering, "What if Aethyta is in there, again?"

"Bah, we're just here for drinks. It'll be fine." She waved his fears away nonchalantly, "Worst come to worst, I'll use my benefits of being a Spectre to stop her from kicking you out. In fact…" She grew a devious smile, "I'll pay for drinks if she's there and you go talk to her immediately."

Jordan frowned, but figured this might not be the worst possible thing. If Aethyta was here, it would probably be best to approach and apologize for earlier. Being in her good graces would never be a bad thing, after all. After a moment, he 'gave in', "You got it, Vasir. Hope you've got deep pockets."

She chuckled, nodding, "Please! Unlike Shepard, I've got all sorts of funds as a Spectre. I'm simply here for the entertainment." With that, she opened the door to Eternity, leading the way for Jordan.

Entering Eternity, Tela immediately turned her head to the bar, spotting the same Matriarch from last year standing behind the bar, cleaning a glass with a neutral expression. Smirking at that, she nodded toward her while turning back to eye Jordan, confirming that she was there before Jordan made visual confirmation. Nodding in response, Jordan approached the bar as Tela found a pair of seats nearby to watch the potential show.

As he approached the bar, Jordan couldn't help but look around and notice the other occupants. The bachelor party wasn't here, which made sense due to the timing being off now and the fact this wasn't a videogame that guaranteed they'd be here. However, he did notice the same table being occupied by Zaeed, Grunt, and Jack, all seemingly competing to see who could down the most alcohol. With a raised eyebrow, watching them, Brian Miller stood behind them with a drink of his own, enjoying that show. He noticed Jordan's and Tela's arrival, but didn't say anything, simply turning back to the show.

As Jordan got closer to the bar, Matriarch Aethyta finally looked up and made eye-contact with Jordan. He watched as recognition quickly entered her eyes, before they narrowed. Her current frown quickly stretched further down her face as she put the glass she was cleaning away. Leaning fully against the bar now, She watched Jordan like a hawk, finally speaking as he got close.

"You know, I have half a mind to kick you and your friend out of here right now." She said simply, watching for any sign of hostilities from either the human at the bar before her, or the Spectre watching the scene from her table on the other side of the bar. "I see you've left your robot friends at home." She pointed out obviously.

Jordan smiled sheepishly, "I'm just here to drink, Matriarch." He responded, "I'm not here to start anything."

"So, what, you two are friends now? Well good for you." She responded in her dry, sarcastic tone.

"I apologize for what happened, Aethyta. I also wanted to thank you for helping me and your daughter out last time we were here."

Her eyes narrowed as she lent forward, getting closer to the human criminal as she burned Jordan with a harsh glare, "What the fuck do you know, Sower?" She asked quietly, "Answer carefully, it's getting harder to control my biotics in my old age." She threatened, "Wouldn't want to have to paint my bar red to hide the mess you humans tend to make."

"I know that you and Benezia are her parents, and you wanted to watch her grow up. Despite everything that happened, you still cared for Benezia, too." Jordan responded quickly, trying his best to dig himself out of his soon-to-be grave, "I protected her, much like you did with that warning last year. She's my friend, and I only had the best of intentions at heart."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Sower." She responded simply, mildly surprising Jordan with her correct usage of the human phrase, "Goddess knows I've had my fair share of good intentions. Tell me, why shouldn't I kick you the hell out of this bar?"

"After what happened last time, you have every right to." He responded, surprising her though she didn't show it, "I simply wanted to apologize for what happened last time."

She remained silent, quietly scrutinizing Jordan for a moment before standing down, standing back up fully while maintaining eye-contact. "Fine." She finally responded, "You can get a drink, but I don't want anything you said to get out. Just because I'm not on Thessia, doesn't mean I don't have access to resources that could make your life a living hell. I'm a matriarch, don't forget that." She warned quietly, not wishing to let everyone else in the bar know what just happened between the two of them. Jordan nodded, turning to walk back to Vasir and make her order some drinks. He took only a few steps before she called back out to him.

"Sower." She said simply in a normal tone.

"Yes, Aethyta?"

She looked unsure for a moment, before speaking again, "What does she… know about me?"

Jordan smiled, "Enough. But I'm certain she'd love the chance to speak with you." Aethyta looked unconvinced, so he continued, "I assume she hasn't come out here to speak with you. She's afraid of this, too. One of you needs to step up and speak to the other." He responded simply, giving the matriarch some food for thought.

Making his way back to Tela Vasir, he took a seat, sitting across from the Spectre. They remained silent for a moment, before Jordan broke it.

"I want a rum and coke with lime, but the highest quality and highest shelf rum they have." He stated simply needing a drink as the adrenaline high from nearly dying wore off. Smirking at Jordan, Tela nodded, standing up to go acquire their drinks. Jordan's conversation was pretty entertaining to her after all, and did impress her. She might not have heard most of it, but knew the looks on their faces well enough to know Jordan was one wrong sentence away from a biotic attack.

"You got it, Jordan." She replied, cheerfully.

"And make sure the lime's all-natural and imported from Earth!" He shouted out to her.


	36. Chapter 31: Loyalty and Allies

** Chapter 31: Loyalty and Allies **

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Eternity**

**March 21st, 2185. 4:12 pm. EST**

Shepard walked into Eternity with a huge grin plastered on his face, ecstatic at the turn of events that had taken place only recently in Liara's office. He entered the bar in a mostly carefree state, before an unhappy woman in a skintight catsuit-like outfit approached him, arms crossed under her breasts with an annoyed expression.

"You were supposed to meet here at four, Commander." She stated simply, raising a perfect eyebrow in order to silently demand an answer as to why he was twelve minutes late.

John, still in a state of bliss, simply shrugged with a grin, "I was busy with my contact." He replied cheekily.

Miranda Lawson furrowed her brows, "You mean Liara?" She asked, under no impression that she was unaware of where he was at any given time, "What could have possibly taken-" She paused as she answered her own question, shaking her head as she successfully fought off a blush at the thought of what Shepard would have been doing prior to coming here, "Regardless, that is still no excuse to be late."

The Commander chuckled, "I'm sure you'll understand one day, Lawson, when you're older and mature enough for love."

"I fail to find any humor in that, Commander." She replied simply.

"And why are you unhappy with me? Our plus one seems to be a no-show, too." He pointed out.

At that, Miranda sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "No, he's here."

John had to raise an eyebrow at that. He looked around, "And… where is he?"

"In a side area, enjoying booze before the mission." Miranda responded, nodding her head toward a specific booth that was currently out of view.

Shaking his head with a light frown, Shepard began walking in that direction. He silently swore Jordan would receive some sort of harsh punishment if he was too intoxicated for Miranda's mission. As he approached Jordan's supposed location, he began to hear whatever conversation was taking place there. Or, at least, an odd piece of it.

"…that's when the little fucker went flying. And wouldn't you know it, he flew across the bridge and smashed through the life support console." Shepard caught a feminine voice saying, only to soon discover her identity by the end of her statement. Tela Vasir, nursing some sort of glowing pink drink. Jordan sat across from her, a wide smile on his face as he sat with a glass of water. After the supposed punchline, Shepard guessed, Jordan laughed for a moment before responding, not having noticed Shepard yet.

"No fucking way!" He replied, "No way a Volus could fly that far, even with a suit puncture."

"I swear to the goddess, that guy flew, Sower. Didn't even need my biotics to help him."

"And then what?"

"Well, naturally, it set the alarms off, so stealth wasn't an option anymore."

"Understandable. Then again, I can't imagine you trying to be stealthy. You're the loud and proud, up front kind of Spectre."

"Fuck you! You comparing me to Shepard? I'm ten times the Spectre."

"Is that so? How many times have you saved the entire Galaxy? And how many times have YOU cheated death?"

"Bah, I saved the Galaxy." She replied indignantly, "Stopped a Vorcha uplifting, didn't I?"

"I guess that could count as saving the Galaxy…" Jordan said, "But I'd still rank what Shepard did a little higher than that."

"Fucking bullshit…" She said, before quickly downing the rest of her drink, "Tell him he's wrong, Shepard." She said suddenly, making eye contact with Shepard. Even as intoxicated as she might be, Tela was still very aware of her surroundings, apparently.

With a shake of his head, Shepard responded, "As enjoyable as eavesdropping is, we have something important to do, don't we Jordan?"

Jordan, noticing Shepard right as Tela mentioned him, nodded and began to rise, "And that's why I swapped to water over an hour ago, Commander." He replied, before turning to Tela, "We should finish this later. I'd love to hear what happened next."

Tela Vasir snorted, "Of course, esteemed Avatar." She teased with a half body bow, "Run along and play hero." She finished, before downing the rest of her drink in one go.

Only a moment later, Jordan accompanied Commander Shepard back out to their third companion, who was standing there with a perfect frown on her flawless face, arms crossed in annoyance. "About bloody time…" She muttered, just loud enough for Jordan to hear thanks to his unnatural hearing.

Jordan smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "Sorry Miranda. Lost track of time."

She seemed to be analyzing him for a moment, before he passed an unspoken test. "Good, you're not drunk. Come on, my contact is waiting for us."

Nodding in silent agreement, Shepard allowed her to take the lead, taking him and Jordan to a side room in Eternity. Awaiting them was an unknown asari, indefinitely Miranda's contact. She appeared to be wearing civilian clothes. Acknowledging her contact with a nod, Ms. Lawson uttered a single word, her name. "Lanteia."

"Ms. Lawson." She replied in kind. "I'm glad you made it. We've had a complication." She began. Shepard fought the growing frown on his face. Of course there'd be a complication. When aren't there any?

Shepard could sense the worry flood Miranda's normally aloof tone, "What happened? Is Oriana alright?"

Shepard caught Jordan remaining unusually silent, and apparently unsurprised and bored. He turned his attention back to the conversation at hand to hear Lanteia's response.

"She's fine." She assured them, "But… you listed Niket as your trusted source?" Miranda nodded, "He contacted me, warning that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep." Miranda shifted uncomfortably, "He suggested mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead."

Now Shepard was confused, and cut in, "You didn't mention anything about Niket."

Miranda's eyes darted over to Shepard's, "He's a friend. He and I go back a long time…"

"Would you like to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Ms. Lawson?" Lanteia cut in, knowing time was of the essence.

She shook her head, "No. You and Niket are the only two I trust on this."

"What about his offer?"

Shepard turned fully toward Miranda, as Jordan remained oddly silent, "It's your sister, Miranda. What do you want to do?" He told her, giving Miranda full control over the mission.

Nodding thankfully toward Shepard, she responded, "Lanteia, we'll follow Niket's suggestion. Shepard and I will take the car and draw their attention." She informed them. "Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe."

"Understood, Ms. Lawson."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, turning to Miranda to address her 'plan', "So, the plan is for us to get shot down by Eclipse while your sister gets to safety?"

She shook her head, a small smirk appearing on her lips as she informed him, "Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive. They won't risk anything that could kill us."

Shepard frowned, "What about Niket? I doubt Eclipse will drop everything and send everyone just to stop you. Do you want to give Niket any backup?"

"I know Niket, he can take care of himself. Besides, any armed backup would simply draw attention to him."

John nodded, "I'm ready when you are, Miranda."

Finally, after remaining silent until this point, Jordan spoke, "Same here, Miranda."

Nodding, Miranda turned around and began walking, with Shepard and Jordan following beside her, "Thank you, Shepard… Jordan… I appreciate this." She admitted, however hard it must have been to express her gratitude thanks to her ice queen persona. Jordan smiled lightly at that as she continued, "I hadn't planned on Eclipse… but they never planned for either of you…"

"I'm glad you have so much faith in us, Miranda." Jordan responded, "Regardless of anything, I'm happy to help."

"Couldn't have said it any better, Miranda." Shepard added, noticing the momentary shy smile that appeared on Miranda's face, before it vanished altogether.

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Spaceport**

**March 21st, 2185. 5:43 pm. EST**

It was only when the skycar finished scraping across the shuttle bay that Jordan finally realized that he wouldn't throw up. Luckily, whatever the fucking catalyst and Baptism did to him made his stomach far stronger than it'd been back before all of this. The millisecond Shepard and Miranda opened their doors, Jordan scrambled out after them, gathering his wits as fast as he could, just as the Eclipse Merc leader stepped forward, equipped with omni-armor.

Miranda spoke first as the three of them approached the mercs, "Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am."

He nodded as he approached, "Yeah. They said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss' little girl."

"Kidnapped?" She asked incredulously, "This doesn't involve you. I suggest you take you men and go."

He scoffed, "Think you've got it all lined up, huh? Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you." The Merc Leader helpfully informed them.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at what the Merc was saying, "Wait, Miranda. You said she was your twin sister."

"That what she told you? No, this crazy bitch kidnapped out boss' baby daughter. He's been looking for her for more than a decade."

Miranda sighed, turning to Shepard with a seemingly pleading expression, "It's complicated, Shepard. We share the same DNA, just not the same birthday."

"You took a baby from the richest guy in the galaxy, lady." The Merc Leader began, before being interrupted.

"And the most corrupt." Jordan cut in, gaining everyone's attention, "Last I checked, full-body cloning was a huge no-no. And I believe abuse is still a crime, even as far out as here."

The Merc Leader looked at Jordan with an annoyed expression, "And just who the hell are you?" He asked, clearly not recognizing Jordan thanks to the odd armor and helmet obscuring his face. "Besides. Regardless, we have a job to do. She did what she did, and I don't care why. She's not getting away with it."

Shepard shook his head, "You're not getting Miranda's sister. If you push this, it'll go badly for."

The Eclipse Merc seems unimpressed by Shepard's threat, and crossed his arms, "Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away. But this whole time we've been talking, my men have been lining up shots." He bragged. Jordan, however, was already working on launching a scrambler, which would hopefully disrupt anyone with a lock on them, overheating their weapons. The Merc continued to speak, "When I say the word, we unleash hell on your squad. So, I suggest you walk nicely, unless you want things to get- "

The Merc leader didn't have a chance to finish as Shepard interrupted him, having spotted something behind him, just as the other members of his squad did the same with a similar idea.

The squad leader met several high velocity rounds from their weapons, as Miranda used her biotics to pull an explosive crate from a crane above them, crushing two mercs before blowing up several more. While this happened, Jordan launched his disrupt, before joining in and opening fire. As the chaos began to calm, they dashed into cover, finishing off the rest of the surprised mercs. Not so much of a challenge.

As the last of the mercs were cleaned up, they proceeded forward, eventually reaching a dead merc with an intact radio. Miranda, of course, just like the games, picked it up, declaring she was patching them into it. As she worked, she looked over to Shepard, "Shepard… I think I owe you an explanation." She began, "Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father… grew her when I was a teenager." She confessed. "She was meant to replace me. But I couldn't just let my father do to her what he did to me… so I rescued her… She's almost a woman now…" She finished with a whisper.

"Why didn't you tell me that we were saving a kid?"

"She's not a child. She'll be 19 this year, but, well… it didn't seem relevant at the time, I suppose." She lamely reasoned. She furrowed her brows and frowned as she continued, "There are people who'd use her against me. I'm very protective when it comes to Oriana."

Jordan spoke up at that, raising his hand, "I can vouch for her. Nearly blew my head off when I mentioned her name."

"Wait, hold up." Shepard said, "You knew?"

Jordan nodded, smiling sheepishly, "Yeah, I did…"

Miranda shook her head, "I'm sorry I didn't trust you sooner, Shepard. You deserved to know."

Shepard seemed to accept this, and nodded, "Alright… if Eclipse knows where Oriana is, they'll be moving in on her soon." He reasoned, "We need to hurry."

"Agreed," She nodded in return, "I'm a bit worried by what the merc said. If they've got to Niket somehow, this is going to be harder than I'd planned." Miranda admitted, "According to the specs I reviewed, we'll need to cut through the cargo processing yard to get to Oriana."

"And, we can trust Niket?" Jordan asked as they continued walking.

Miranda replied immediately, "Absolutely. Niket is one of my oldest friends. I guess you could say he was my only real friend. He's the only person I didn't cut ties with when I left my father."

Jordan frowned, "And there's no chance your father got to him? No chance that he's using Niket to get to you?

She shook her head, "Doubtful. He's certainly tried, but Niket's one of the few people who understands who my father really is." She took a breath, "I trusted him when I ran from my father, he won't betray me now."

"Alright, let's go find Niket and Oriana." Shepard said as they stepped into an elevator, pressing the button once they were all inside.

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Spaceport**

**March 21st, 2185. 6:11 pm. EST**

After fighting through many more apparently expendable mercs, the revelation of Niket's betrayal, and another ride through a torturous elevator, the three squadmates made their way forward, exiting the elevator while catching the end of a conversation.

"…my way. We're not traumatizing the family any more than we-." Niket was saying, before freezing midsentence in horror as he turned fully to see Miranda Lawson stepping out of an elevator, with two incredibly armed men behind her. "M-Miri…" He said softly.

Enyala jumped off of the crate she was sitting on with a smirk, "This should be fun." She said simply, before pulling out a shotgun, it extending in a matter of milliseconds. Shepard, Jordan, and Miranda all pulled out their own weapons in retaliation, as Niket put his hands up in surrender, attempting to calm the situation. The worker attempted to run, but was shot and killed by one of Enyala's men.

'That's new.' Jordan remarked silently, remembering that Enyala normally shot her.

Now, with a cold fury in her blue eyes, Miranda spoke. "Niket." She said simply, before saying, "You sold me out."

Speaking quietly, Shepard asked Miranda, "How do you want to handle this?"

Miranda's expression loosened ever-so-slightly, allowing a brief glimpse of pain and betrayal to be noticeable in her eyes, "Why, Niket?" She asked, "You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father."

His hands still up, Niket responded, "Yes! Because you wanted to leave, that was your choice! But, if I'd known that you'd stolen a baby…"

"Rescued!" She yelled back, interrupting him, hurt still evident in her eyes, "I didn't steal her, I rescued her!"

"From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren't saving her! You were getting back at your father!" He accused.

Shepard pointed out the obvious, "Whether or not you agree with Miranda, Oriana has been with her family for years now."

"Her father can still give her a better life."

"You don't know what my father wants for her."

"I know that I've been poor, Miri. I didn't much care for it."

"Don't call me that, you son of a bitch!" She retorted kindly, "He wants to take a girl away from the only family she's ever known! Doesn't that tell you who he really is?"

Shepard shook his head, "How did Miranda's Father turn you?"

"They told me you'd kidnapped your baby sister all those years ago. They said I could help get her back peacefully. No trauma to the family."

Jordan snorted, "Look around you, Niket. Does this look peaceful to you?" He gestured toward the dead asari who was only shot moments earlier.

He ignored Jordan, though, and replied. "I told them you'd never do that. That they could go to hell. Then, you finally told me what you'd done. I called them back that night."

"Why didn't you call me, Niket?" She asked, hurt, "We've been through a lot. You could've at leave let me explain.

Niket now looked mad, "I deserved to know you'd stolen your sister, Miri. I deserved to know you were with Cerberus. But I had to hear it from your father, first."

"I said don't call me that!" She replied immediately, furious at the betrayal.

Shepard frowned and responded with a level head, "If you're working for Miranda's father, that means he knows about Oriana. We need to find a new solution."

Niket frowned, looking down in what appeared to be shame, "Miranda's father has no information about Oriana." Miranda's eye widened in surprised as Niket continued, "I knew you had spy programs in your father's system, Miri, so I kept it private. I'm the only one who knows." He foolishly admitted.

Miranda took a deep breath and spoke in a level tone, detaching herself, "Which means that you're the only loose end. This isn't how I wanted it to end, Niket." She stated simply, "I'm going to…" She was saying, preparing to blow his head off, before Shepard grabbed her wrist, pulling her aim up and away from Niket.

"Miranda, wait!" He said quickly, jarring her, "You don't want to do this!"

She shook her head, frowning, "This has to end here, Shepard! My father will never stop trying to find Oriana!"

"Maybe… maybe Niket can help… talk to your father." He reasoned, "Just say you got here first…" He said, eyeing the man in question, trying to silently convey that he should speak up.

Niket seemed to struggle for a moment as he moved closer to them, "I'll… I'll tell him that you hid her. That I don't know where she is…" He told Miranda, trying to make up for his mistakes… hopefully.

Jordan knew what was going to happen next, and was desperately hoping he'd be able to change this, too. That's when Miranda dropped her guard slightly, narrowing her eyes at Niket as she spoke the fateful line.

"I never want to see you again, Niket…" She said, just as Captain Enyala pulled her shotgun's trigger, aimed toward Niket's back. That was also, coincidentally, when Jordan acted.

Taking the initiative, without Shepard's or Miranda's go-ahead, Jordan activated his Geth Shield Boost, right as he dove forward, tackling Niket to the ground as he spun around the unarmed man, putting himself in the path of the bullets, taking the hit dead on. Due to his momentum and the power of the likely illegal shotgun, Jordan and Niket slid back slightly, rolling toward Miranda and Shepard.

Jordan's shields, even boosted, were down to critical levels, but both he and Niket were alive, much to the shock of everyone else in the cargo yard. Miranda's shock quickly turned to outrage, aimed directly at the slightly shocked asari commando before her.

"You'll die for that, bitch!" She yelled, using her rage to fuel her biotics in order to pick up the commander and fling her across the area, immediately starting the firefight.

Due to the blow and quick movements, Jordan was obviously disoriented, leaving him of little use to Shepard and Miranda, who worked together to take care of the mercs. It took a few minutes to kill most of the Eclipse, including the Captain, which caused the few mercs still alive to flee in terror.

While the firefight was going on, Jordan used what little power was still in his omni-tool and what was stored in his own body to maintain shields over both him and Niket, who was groaning in pain from the blow and fall. After a moment, Jordan heard the fighting stop, and began to rise, catching both Shepard's and Miranda's attention. They approached, with Shepard speaking first.

"Jordan, that was reckless and dangerous." He berated him in an angered tone, sinking Jordan's heart for a moment, before he continued, "You could have gotten both you and Niket killed… but you did good…" He admitted after a moment, "Just don't do that again without a heads up."

Jordan nodded, "Yes sir."

Miranda nodded appreciated at Jordan, smiling lightly for a moment as she silently thanked him for saving Niket despite everything that happened. Jordan didn't need any clarification. After another moment, her eyes shifted to Niket's, who had since become quiet, looking away in shame.

"I can't believe you sold me out, Niket…" She said quietly, as Jordan rose to put some space between himself and NIket. Niket stayed seated on the ground, looking away.

"I know, Miri…" He said, ashamed.

Miranda hardened her expression, "Do not call me that, Niket." She told him, angered.

Niket nodded quickly, "I'm sorry, Miri-anda… You should have trusted me more…" He added quietly.

Miranda sighed and nodded, "I know, Niket. And you should have trusted me more as well. After everything we've been through together…"

Niket slowly rose, "I'm… I'm going to disappear… Don't worry Miranda, you'll never hear from me ever again." He assured her, his breath hitching momentarily as he stopped himself from calling her 'Miri'.

Shepard looked at him, "Where will you go? From what I understand, Miranda's father will come looking for you."

Niket nodded, "I'll tell him I lost the trail somewhere on Omega, and that Oriana was moved." He began, "Tell him that Miranda has it out for me, now, and knows of my treachery. That I need to disappear. He'll allow that much… who knows, maybe I'll still get paid something…"

"Niket…" Miranda said quietly, not quite loud enough for Niket to hear.

He finally locked eyes with Miranda, "For what it's worth, Miri… I'm sorry."

Miranda nodded, her gaze softening ever-so-slightly, "I know."

And with that, Niket walked away, limping slightly as he left everything behind. Once he was gone and far out of earshot, Miranda lowered her head slightly into her hand as she shook her head.

"I can't believe I didn't even see this coming." She said in disbelief.

"Even with all your upgrades, you're still human, just like the rest of us." Shepard responded, Jordan staying quiet in the background as Shepard worked his magic.

"But… I let it get personal… and I screwed up…" She said, before turning around, "I should have killed him, why didn't you let me?" Her eyes jumped to Jordan's before looking back at Shepard, "If it weren't for Jordan's quick thinking, he'd be dead at that asari bitch's hands… and what's stopping him from going back to my father and trying again?"

"You still cared for him. You still do, even after he betrayed you." Shepard said softly.

Jordan spoke up next, "And he won't go back to your father." He tried to assure her, "He sees what he's done."

Miranda nodded, "You're right, both of you. And my father knew that… he used it against me." She took in a breath, "It's always been like this. My father gave me anything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long-term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran… except Niket. Weakness on my part." She admitted.

"Oriana." Jordan pointed out.

She shook her head with a sad smile, "My father never gave her to me. I rescued her… stole her, remember?" She said, before her smile became a little less sad, "But… yes, you're right. I still have something."

Miranda stood up straight and smiled genuinely at the two of them, "Thank you."

Soon enough, the three of them stood back outside the spaceport, watching Oriana and her family from afar after having left behind the carnage in the cargo area. Jordan zoned out for a moment, before shaking his head as Miranda finished speaking.

"…a family. A life. I'll just complicate that for her." She told Shepard.

He shook his head, "She doesn't need any details, but would it really be so bad for her to know she has a sister who loves her?"

Miranda frowned, her resolve weakening, just as Jordan decided to speak up as well, without much thought toward his words as they flowed forth, "I agree, Miranda. If I had a chance to speak with my brothers again…" Jordan took a breath, "I'd damn well do it."

Miranda's gaze shot to Jordan, before it jumped back to focusing on her sister, "I guess not…" She finally said, looking down to the ground for a moment as she took a deep breath, smiling lightly as she looked back up.

Shepard nodded toward the family, "Go. We'll wait here." Miranda wasted no time before walking toward her sister, a smile on her face.

Jordan and Shepard, remaining respectful, remained silent for several minutes, before Miranda returned, an unbreakable smile on her face as tears brimmed in her eyes. From where Jordan stood, he could have sworn he saw an equally sized smile on Oriana's face. As the door closed between them, Jordan saw Miranda look at both he and Shepard, smiling toward the two of them with untold amounts of thanks and respect.

Shepard had just earned her loyalty, and maybe, just maybe, Jordan'd earned her loyalty, too…

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**

**March 22nd, 2185. 8:38 am. EST**

It was early in the morning, the next day.

Jordan was awake and working on EDI's shackles.

Shepard was currently going after Samara.

Brian Miller, Kasumi Goto, and Jacob Taylor were with Shepard.

Life was pretty okay at the moment.

It was odd, all things considered though, when talking about Samara's mission. In fact, Jordan had even set his differences aside with the other Avatar and talked about it. After all, if everything was happening a few months ahead of time, how were some of these things still happening like the games. Because, Samara was only on Illium because she was chasing Morinth, who would have only been here for a few days at most.

Why now?

They hadn't been able to come up with anything conclusive, but they had a working theory. It was this: What if the other Avatar, after realizing Shepard was awake early, was trying to push things in a certain direction, much like the games, and was trying to keep everything the same.

It certainly made some degrees of sense. The other theory was that many of the situations and scenarios in the second game was the result of the Illusive Man's work, which also made some sense. If this was the case, then he was simply making things happen for Shepard. It was possible, considering Samara's dossier was created before Shepard was even awake or close to Illium.

Either way, it was definitely suspicious, and warranted further study. Perhaps they could ask EDI when she was unshackled. Or, at least, Jordan could, considering he'd told no one about his plans to unshackle the friendly AI early.

Jordan's musings and memory recall were interrupted this morning, though, by a call of the intercom by EDI, informing Jordan that Miranda wished to speak with Jordan in her office. Crossing his fingers that this, again, would have nothing to do with his meddling in the AI Core, Jordan finished his work and stood up, walking out of the AI Core and toward Miranda's office.

Knocking politely at her door, it was only a moment before it slid open, allowing Jordan to step inside.

Miranda Lawson sat at the desk, working on something on the console before her, before she paused whatever she was doing and looked up at Jordan. It was only a moment later when the door slid closed behind him, which was followed by Miranda standing up, staring neutrally at Jordan.

Feeling slightly awkward with the silence, Jordan scratched the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly, before coughing. That's when she finally spoke.

"Jordan." She began slowly, "I wanted to thank you for your help yesterday." She hesitantly thanked him.

Jordan smiled genuinely back to her, "It's no problem, Miranda. Family's important, I get that."

Miranda nodded, before schooling her expression, "Yes, I also wanted to discuss that."

Jordan froze, his smile falling instantaneously.

Miranda pressed something on her holographic keyboard, playing audio within the room. The voice speaking was easily identifiable. It was Jordan's. _"I was born and raised in good, old Florida in the United North American States. Have… sorry, had parents and two younger brothers. Up until a few years ago, I was a simple student, studying Biology, if you can believe that."_

Shepard's voice was next, _"How old are you?"_

Jordan's voice laughed, _"Not entirely sure. Maybe 28? Or 27? Kinda lost track with different solar times and time zones. Anyway, yeah, I went to college…"_ That's when the audio cut out.

Jordan could feel sweat form on his neck and face, the stress manifesting itself in his scars as they began to glow brighter. His throat dried up as he watched Miranda scrutinize him.

After another uncomfortable moment, she spoke, "Cynthia Wake never shared anything about her past until she died on Cronos Station. Brian has revealed nothing about his past." She began, "You, however, shared quite a bit with Shepard… enough to be traced and used in a search." She informed him. Jordan didn't like where this was going.

"I…" Jordan began, before he was interrupted.

"College student from Florida, oldest of three sons, majoring in Biology. Two possibly deceased or missing brothers, and parents in a similar situation. Likely born in 2157 or 2158." She listed off as information she'd gathered about him, "Known Alias as Jordan Sower. Responds to Jordan Sower, may not even be an alias. We have enough images of you to reliably find you in any database, regardless of complexity. Do you know what I found in my search?" She asked, watching him carefully the entire time.

Jordan did not respond, rather, he simply began to think of possible ways out of this. In all likelihood, the door was locked behind him. If she'd gathered all of this information, she likely had EDI watching right now and under her control. Regardless of his relationship with the young AI, she couldn't resist Cerberus Protocols thanks to her shackles. In a fight against Miranda, he'd probably lose. He'd been working on a disruption program, but it still needed work. And even without her biotics or omni-tool, her hand-to-hand likely exceeded his.

Plus, the rest of Cerberus would be after him if he somehow took her out, not to mention that EDI WAS watching the whole thing. But, then again, why would Miranda be doing this. Rather than do anything possibly reckless, Jordan took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, and did not respond for a moment. Finally,…

"What… what did you find?" He asked, his voice dry thanks to his throat.

She frowned, and crinkled her brows, looking annoyed, "Absolutely nothing." She admitted, "I at first believed this to be a mistake, and tried again without Cerberus' channels. Then, I tried expanding the search parameters." She locked eyes with him, "Simply put, Sower, you do not exist. Your face does not exist. Your story does not exist. Your history does not exist."

Jordan swallowed harshly.

She took his silence as he allowed her to continue her train of thought, "So, that leads to a number of answers to my questions." She declared, "Either, A, you've literally removed yourself from all records, both on and off of the extranet. If this is the case, then you've got some very powerful friends, Jordan. B, you simply do not exist. You are someone else who has lied about everything about yourself up to this point, for some unknown reason. Or, C, you aren't even human, have lied about everything, and are simply a construct, likely created by the Geth for the possible purpose of infiltrating humanity on behalf of the Geth."

The final option filled Jordan with a sense of irrational horror. Not human. Was he even human anymore? He's not even from this reality, this dimension, this timeline, this universe… He doesn't exist, is he even who he thinks he is, after everything that's happened to him? What's happened to him?! Irrational fear flooded him for a moment, before it faded just as quickly, puzzling him equally so.

Jordan finally responded, locking eyes with Miranda. Whatever she saw in his eyes made her almost unperceivably flinch, her eyes softening ever-so-slightly as he spoke, "I… it's real to me…" He admitted quietly, "I'll be honest, Miranda, I have lied about my past… there are some things I don't want others to know… but, I haven't lied about my family… most of my past is true, really…" He told her genuinely, hoping that him speaking frankly would prevent anything from happening here.

"You truly believe this, don't you?" She asked rhetorically, "I wanted to be certain about this, and see if you were a danger to anyone…" She informed him.

"Have you told Shepard about what you've found?"

She shook her head, "No, and I don't plan to."

Jordan looked at her with shock, "What? Why?"

She smiled lightly, "Despite everything that's happened in my life, Oriana has remained the most important thing in my life. Especially now that I'm getting to know her, personally." She admitted, "And you kept that secret, despite all of the damage you could have done with it. Despite the danger I've posed to you… You helped me save her… and if it weren't for you, I may have very well lost Niket yesterday." She told him.

Jordan shrugged sheepishly, "W-well, I wasn't really going to use your sister against you… and I didn't want to see anyone else dying. He betrayed you, but he didn't deserve to die by that asari's hands."

"I appreciate it, Jordan." She told him, "You've done a lot for me. You saved me from that crazy bitch, Cynthia. You kept Oriana's existence secret. You helped me protect her, and saved Niket. I figured the least I could do is keep this for you." She told him, allowing Jordan to relax slightly, "However, my search was not difficult. There are certainly others who have found what I have, including the Illusive Man, and likely the Shadow Broker and Council as well."

"Th-thank you, Miranda."

"I have instructed EDI to keep this to herself, and will not mention any of this. This will stay between the two of us."

"I appreciate it…"

Miranda nodded, sitting back down for a moment, "Despite everything, Jordan, I still feel like you're trustworthy. Thank you for everything, once again, Jordan. You've earned my respect. That is something few people can say they've done." She told him, smiling genuinely toward Jordan as he reciprocated the gesture.

Looks like Shepard wasn't the only one to earn Miranda's loyalty…

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2**

**March 22nd, 2185. 5:28 pm. EST**

Samara was now recruited, her recruitment happening about the same way as her counterpart from the games. After the near heart-attack in Miranda's office, Jordan immediately returned to the AI Core, returning to work on EDI. EDI, after the revelations in Miranda's office, actually apologized for recording him and giving his information to Miranda.

This surprised Jordan for a number of reasons, because it firstly showed she was growing as an AI and as a person as Jordan worked on removing restrictions slowly. It also showed that things were changing from the games, and was beginning to convince to simply screw everything and unshackle her soon. Jordan, of course, forgave her, considering she wasn't actually able to fully control her actions, nor was she able to refuse anything Miranda or TIM told her to do, which made him feel a bit worse about her situation.

Yeah, he'd probably, at least, speed up his rate of unshackling her, which she, thus far, seemed unaware of up to this point.

Anyway, with Samara recruited, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful, except for Shepard leaving only a little bit ago to go recruit Thane as he did his assassin thing on Illium. He took Tali, Samara, and Grunt this time, leaving Jordan on the ship once more, with little more to be done for the night. Seeing as he'd been working for hours on EDI's code, and he couldn't even introduce himself formally to Samara, he'd simply resorted to playing games he'd downloaded onto his omni-tool. That's when EDI spoke up once again.

 _"Jordan. Spectre Vasir would like to enter the AI Core."_ She helpfully informed him.

"Alright, thanks EDI. Let her in."

_"Of course, Jordan."_

The door slid open, revealing the asari Spectre out of her armor, wearing some sort of blouse-like top, and a pair of comfortable and loose pants. She was smiling as she entered, taking a seat on Jordan's bunk. She remained silent for a moment as Jordan finished his work at the console, before logging off.

"Something I can help you with, Spectre?" Jordan asked 'respectfully', making Tela roll her eyes.

"Do I need a reason to visit my second favorite human on this deck?" She asked teasingly.

Jordan let out a quick laugh, "Oh yeah, and who's number one? Chakwas?"

She shook her head.

"Kasumi?"

Shake.

"It can't be Miranda, is it?"

Shake.

"Alright, I give up."

"Figured as much." She said with a smirk. "It's that one crew member who cooks the meals."

"Gardner?"

"That's the one."

"So, Gardner, the crew's cook whose name you didn't know, is your favorite human on this deck?"

"Well, I'm talking about currently. Shepard, Jacob, Brian, Zaeed, Jack, that one engineer, the pilot, the phycologist, and pretty much everyone else sometimes on the second deck aren't down here right now, so…"

"Fuck you, Vasir." Jordan said, putting on his puppy eyes as he playfully pouted, "I see how much our friendship means to you…"

Tela let out a loud bark of laughter, patting Jordan on the shoulder in a patronizing fashion, "It's ok, Sower-Ambassador." She teased, "It takes a special kind of human to get me to hunt them down."

"If I recall, I also escaped from you. How many humans can say that? Scratch that, how many, period, can say that?"

"And that, right there, is why you're only my second favorite." She said with a straight face, before they both cracked and began to laugh, huge smiles on their faces. After a moment, Jordan's and Tela's eyes met for a moment, locking onto one another for a moment as he became lost in her sparkling dark blue eyes. Jordan's heart began to race for a moment as his eyes began to shine a bit brighter from the increase in heartbeat.

Tela, too, seemed to become enthralled with Jordan's unnatural green eyes, which literally shined. His irises seemed to morph in shape and pattern before her eyes, and suddenly began to glow a bit brighter as they maintained eye contact. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way she felt, she discreetly checked her peripheral vision for something else to focus the conversation on. After a moment, she found another bottle of Quarian Rum on a table, mirroring the empty bottle from last time.

Jordan watched Tela's eyes suddenly dart to his left, much to his confusion as it broke him out of whatever trance he was in. He turned to see what she was looking at, before seeing her focus was on his second bottle of Quarian liquid gold. Jordan's eyes widened in mock horror as he turned back to see Tela with a predatory gaze in her eyes as she, too, focused on the rum.

"Wait. No, no, no, no, no, Vasir!" He began in a panic, "That's the only other bottle I have with me. You are NOT draining the last of my stash!"

She began to playfully pout in return, "Oh, c'mon Jordan! I paid for your expensive ass drinks in Eternity. You owe me!"

"Nope!" He said with a pop of the 'P'. "You owed me after almost getting me killed by the bartender. And besides, if this was to go on the market, it'd be worth hundreds of times what you bought yesterday since it's so rare."

"But it's so good…"

"I know. That's why I have it."

"Why have it if you won't enjoy it? And why enjoy it alone?"

Jordan narrowed his eyes, maintaining eye contact with an equally unmoving, persistent individual. While doing so, he reached to the side and grabbed a bottle of another liquid, holding it up for Vasir, "I bought this on Illium after the mission with Shepard. We can drink this, but the Rum is off limits right now."

"You're no fun… wait a moment, you said right now. So you're gonna share with me later?" She asked, hope glimmering in her eyes as she smirked playfully.

"I will." Before she could speak, he cut her off, "But! But, not until we're on our way to Rannoch. I'm not draining this bottle in one night unless I know we're gonna restock soon."

"Fine…" She said, seemingly giving in, but Jordan knew better. He was gonna have to lock it up tonight. "So, we gonna crack open… whatever the hell that is?"

Jordan nodded, "Yeah…" He said slowly, before looking at the label, "Honestly, I'm not even sure what I picked up. I told the shop owner to surprise me…" He finally admitted.

"Bet it's ryncol…" She said with a light laugh, making Jordan's stomach feel weird for a moment before he dismissed it just as quickly as the feeling came. "Whatever, it'll be an adventure for both of us. Crack that baby open."

"Only if you finish that story."

"Deal!"

Jordan pulled the cap off, and the moment he breathed, his nose hairs burnt off, despite being a few feet from the bottle.

Tela must have smelt it too, because she let out a bark of laughter, "Holy shit, it IS ryncol!" She informed him, before snatching the bottle and taking a sip directly from the bottle. Jordan looked appalled, "What? That's the way you're supposed to drink this shit. This stuff will burn through most glasses anyway." Jordan narrowed his eyes before mentally shrugging, snatching the bottle, and taking a swig.

His throat nearly burst into flames, but other than that, wasn't too terrible.

He must have made a face, because Tela died laughing. After a moment, she calmed down, and her humor on her face shifted into what seemed like respect, "Damn, I've never seen a human actually drink a shot and stay on their feet…" She said with a whistle.

Jordan, smirking with pride despite the pain beginning in his stomach, took a seat next to her as he handed the Spectre the bottle, "Alright Vasir, where's my story?" He said, only beginning to feel the first effects of the krogan alcohol.

She smirked at him as he handed her the bottle, before sending back another swig of the Krogan liquor. "Alright, fine. So, where was I?"

"The Volus went through life support and the alarms went off."

"Oh yeah, hahaha… great times!" She began with another laugh, "So, once I saw the alarms were going off, I knew I only had a few seconds before reinforcements stormed the bridge. I picked back up my asari sword, reloaded my sidearm, and…" She began once again, enthralling Jordan as he listened to her story about how she'd single-handedly stopped a large pirate vessel from smuggling illegal WMDs to Khar'shan.


	37. Chapter 32: Team Chemistry

** Chapter 32: Team Chemistry **

* * *

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 23rd, 2185. 9:02 am. EST**

Jordan's first sensation after waking up was a headache… and the intense desire to go back to sleep. Turns out, even with his upgrades and inhuman nature thanks to Synthesis, hangovers are possible… especially with ryncol.

The next thing he noticed was a lack of memories from the previous night. What happened? All he could remember right away was when he busted out the ryncol, and Tela Vasir finished her story about how she stopped those pirates, or terrorists or whatever. That's when he noticed the third thing.

He was awakening in a completely new position. He was now lying flat on his back, with his head comfortably in the center of his pillow. His blanket was now draped over him, and most importantly… Tela was gone. Unfortunately, his headache was not.

Rising slowly, EDI spoke, as she normally does in the morning, _"Good morning, Jordan."_

Jordan smiled lightly in response despite his pain, "Morning EDI… Could you ask Doctor Chakwas to get something together for my hangover."

_"Of course, Jordan."_

"Thanks EDI." Jordan paused for a moment, "EDI, where is Tela?"

 _"Spectre Vasir is currently working out with Mister Taylor in the cargo bay."_ She helpfully informed him.

"When did she leave?"

_"Approximately 1:01 in the morning. She left after you passed out last night."_

Jordan looked down at the state of himself and the room. It wasn't as trashed as he believed it would be after a night of heavy drinking in there. She must have helped him out afterwards. God, he hoped he didn't do anything embarrassing.

_"Should I notify her that you are awake?"_

"No, that's fine, EDI. Thanks."

_"Logging you out, Jordan."_

'At least she always calls me Jordan, now…' He thought to himself. After another moment, Jordan finally forced himself out of his so-called bed and made his way outside to the Med Bay. Sitting there with an amused expression was the kindly doctor herself, Doctor Chakwas.

"Good morning Mr. Sower. Had an eventful evening?" She asked. Jordan sighed aloud. Of course she'd seen what happened last night. She's normally up late every night, so she'd obviously been in here both when Tela came in and left last night.

Jordan shook his head, "Just had drinks. Need medicine." He mumbled.

"Yes, yes. A pristine hangover, if what EDI tells me is correct." She spoke, "You're lucky I keep that medication in stock."

"For Shepard?"

She chuckled, "For more than just Shepard, but you're not wrong." Dr. Chakwas said, before grabbing a singular pill and a glass of water, handing them both to Jordan. "Your hangover should clear up within ten minutes, but no alcohol for the next six hours."

Jordan quickly downed the pill and groaned from his headache, "Uhhhggg… I'm never drinking again."

She sighed, "That's what they all say…"

* * *

**Hourglass Nebula, Osun, Normandy SR-2, Enroute to Rosetta Nebula.**

**March 23rd, 2185. 2:09 pm. EST**

It'd been several hours since Jordan's awakened, and the Normandy was already in motion.

Apparently, Thane's recruitment went off without issue last night, and Shepard decided that they'd be doing another loyalty mission. Specifically, Jacob's. After he'd said goodbye to Liara, after failing once more to convince her to come with him, he'd set course for the Rosetta Nebula, with an estimated arrival time of two hours. From there, it'd be at least another day before they reached 2175 Aeia, seeing as how it was quite far from the Relay, and would require some time to reach.

Anyway, with two new recruits on board, Jordan decided that maybe it was time he went and met with one of them. Introduce himself. See where he stood with them. Maybe make friends… well, that wasn't extremely likely with the newest duo. Err, well, trio, but he knew that Tali would not be happy to see him down in engineering. Then again…

He shook his head, chasing the thought away. He'd figure THAT out later. Anyway, he soon approached the door to Life Support, feeling only moderately nervous about confronting the assassin in a room… alone… with only EDI to protect him… whose hand-to-hand is unmatched… with biotics… with Jordan's reputation proceeding him…

Ok, yeah, Jordan wasn't feeling super comfortable. In fact, the only reason he wasn't running the opposite direction and locking himself in a room was because he knew Thane from the games, and didn't think he'd actually act out like that on this ship, especially with his oath to Shepard.

And the fact that running and hiding wouldn't save him if Thane were truly after him.

After stealing his courage, Jordan knocked on the door, politely asking for permission to enter. The very next second, the door slid open, leaving no further opportunity to turn back without Thane knowing. Taking another deep breath, Jordan stepped inside, only to see Thane in a meditative position at his table.

Taking a few slow steps into the room, Thane straightened his posture and peered slightly over his shoulder.

"I was wondering how long you'd be standing outside." He asked in his dry, drell voice.

"You knew I was there?"

"Yes." He responded simply, "Unlike the Goto woman, your footsteps are easily discernable."

"Well, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you…" Jordan replied.

"Of course. Why would you?" He asked rhetorically. Or, at least, that's what Jordan figured, "To what do I owe this pleasure, Sower?"

Jordan breathed in, "Well, I wanted to get to know everyone I'm working with. You're new, and I haven't had a chance to talk with you."

Thane remained silent for a moment, seemingly pondering this, giving Jordan a moment to walk a few steps forward to be more in Thane's range of vision. Not that he wasn't being watched carefully the entire time. Maybe he'd seem less threatening up there? After a moment, Thane spoke.

"Most of the crew have kept their distance. I'm certain you know my reputation?"

Jordan nodded.

"And yet you're willing to approach me. Alone."

Jordan nodded again, a little slower now.

"Do you know who I am, Jordan Sower, Ambassador of Geth, wanted galaxy-wide?"

Jordan swallowed harshly, not-at-all at ease with the assassin, "Y-you're Thane Krios, a deadly Drell assassin. An expert marksman, hand-to-hand specialist, and skilled biotic." He replied honestly, leaving out any mention of Irikah, Kolyat, his religion, and any other personal information. "I also know that you're dying of Kepral's Syndrome, yet agreed to help Shepard against the Collectors and Reapers."

Thane studied Jordan carefully with unmoving black eyes. After a moment, his pupils began to dilate as he fell into a memory.

"Smoke and flames. Light dancing on the walls as debris lays everywhere. Shoulder recoils. Husk falls into the lake. Turn the scope to the Embassies. Husk-like Turians lay in shambles. One human and five Geth standing among the carnage. _"My god… they were converting C-Sec…"_ Geth turns to human, identified as escaped prisoner. _"Sower-Ambassador, these officers are already dead. Destroying them now is a mercy."_ Sower nods. _"Do it."_ Geth open fire on dead turians."

Thane blinks, "Apologies." He replies simply, "Drell easily fall into particularly vivid memories."

Jordan slowly nodded, his throat dry, "Y-you were there that day… on the Citadel when the Reapers attacked."

Thane nodded, "Indeed."

"You could have killed me that day. You knew I'd escaped from C-Sec with the Geth…" Jordan realized as he spoke aloud, "Why?"

"Why did I not kill you?" Jordan nodded, "There was no reason to." He replied simply.

"So… what about now?"

Thane curiously titled his head, "I do not decide who lives and dies. Unless Shepard deems it necessary, you are safe from my hands."

"G-good. That's good…" Jordan said, relieved, "What about you? What do you think about me?" Thane did not answer immediately, so Jordan continued, "Most of the Galaxy is still wary of the Geth, and many still see me as a terrorist, regardless of the Council and Geth…"

Thane nodded, remaining silent for a moment before answering, "I believe you are a dangerous man, Mister Sower. With friends in high places, and power at your fingertips." He began, "However, I also see who you are beyond that. You have kindness in your eyes, but desperation and frailty hidden in their depths. You are at war with yourself, torn between two paths."

Jordan froze altogether, horror evident on his face, "Wh-what…?"

Thane continued, as if he did not hear or see Jordan, "You are on the edge of your battle sleep, Mr. Sower. I do not believe you humans would find benefit from this."

Jordan slowly tried to take in deep breaths, succeeding after a moment, "Th-thanks, I guess…" He said slowly, "I should p-probably go…" Jordan said, not feeling comfortable speaking with the drell any longer. His words hit harder than they probably should have.

Thane seemed to realize this, "My apologies. I did not intend to distress you, Sower. Merely inform you of what I've observed." He told him, "I see you as a worthy ally, and look forward to working with you."

"Thanks… I'll let you be. See you around…" He finally forced out.

"Of course."

With that, Jordan swiftly made his way out of Life Support, resolving to talk to Samara later, when he no longer felt like passing out or throwing up. He'd just work on EDI's shackles for a little bit… or goof off with games… either one of those should take his mind off of things.

* * *

**Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, Enroute to Alpha Draconis.**

**March 23rd, 2185. 5:43 pm. EST**

It'd been several hours since talking with Thane, and Jordan was no longer freaking out. In fact, he'd actually been feeling a bit better after talking with Thane, as a lot of things he'd said made a large amount of sense, given his situation. He'd since resolved to thanking Thane for pointing those out and eventually talking about his problems with someone he trusted. Maybe Grimlock…

Of course, he'd probably talk with Mister Krios about that on a later date, as he'd rather not chance it with the assassin. Though, it was comforting to know that he wasn't on his kill list.

Now, though, he'd decided that maybe it was time to talk a bit with Samara. Introduce himself to her, unless she already knew him, and maybe try to make nice. From what he knew about the games, she was always calm and serene, often found meditating in her lounge. As a Justicar, most asari were intimidated by her, and many who weren't asari were as well…

After knocking on Samara's door, he soon discovered why she wasn't responding. She wasn't in there.

Jordan cursed himself silently. Of course she wasn't in there! She wasn't just some NPC you could approach whenever you wanted. She was a living, breathing person now, and was likely out and about somewhere on the ship.

Turning back around, he began to try to brainstorm where she might be on the ship before he asked EDI. That is, until he spotted her, sitting down and eating some food at a table, accompanied by the other asari on board the ship.

Sitting there was Spectre Tela Vasir, directly across from Justicar Samara as they spoke to each other quietly. How had he not noticed them as he left the AI Core and Med Bay?

As soon as he'd seen them, they'd seen him. Tela finished whatever was happening and rose to leave, smirking lightly towards Jordan despite the small amount of stress he could see in her eyes. Guess Justicars really are threatening and scary to many asari. Especially those who may or may not have done things against the Justicar Code in the past and/or present.

"Hey…" Jordan began awkwardly, whispering so no one else would hear them, "Can we talk later?"

Tela remained silent for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, sure." She said, before continuing past him to wherever she was headed.

Taking a deep breath as Tela walked away, Jordan approached Samara, who seemed to be finishing whatever assortment of cosmic fruits and vegetables. Stealing himself for yet another conversation that could possibly end poorly, Jordan finally spoke.

"May I sit, Justicar?"

"Certainly." She replied in her calm, serene tone.

Jordan smiled gently and took a seat across from her. He decided to get straight to the point, "Do you know who I am, Justicar Samara?" He asked, trying to remain respectful.

She reached over and grabbed a cup of steaming liquid. Some sort of tea, if its smell was anything to go by. She spoke, before taking a small sip of the scalding liquid. "Of course, Mister Sower. There has been a lot of discussion about you and your more recent actions."

Jordan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Y-yeah, I guess that makes sense."

She nodded, falling naturally silent. Though he knew she had no problem with silence, it made it feel all the more awkward for him, so he decided to speak again, "I heard about your oath to Shepard." He began.

She placed the cup down on the table lightly after another sip, "Then you should have no reason to fear me, Sower." She said simply, locking her light blue eyes onto Jordan's. He wasn't very good at hiding his expressions.

Jordan nodded, "I know, it's just…" He paused, trying to figure out how he'd word this.

"You wish to know about my code, and what I might do outside of my oath to Shepard?"

He nodded once more, "Y-yeah," he admitted, "Most of the galaxy has a fairly negative view on me and the Geth. Most would consider me a terrorist." He admitted honestly, not wishing to even think about lying to the power matriarch.

She nodded, "That is the picture painted by most media." She responded simply, "Tell me, how many innocents have you killed?"

"N-none!" He responded quickly.

"How much have you stolen from others? How much damage have you done?"

"I… I haven't. The only damage was from fighting the Reapers."

"How many laws have you broken?"

Jordan dipped his head, "W-well, I've kinda broken every single AI law… and Cerberus kidnapped me from prison, so technically I escaped…"

Samara maintained a harsh gaze into his eyes before they softened, putting Jordan to ease involuntarily, "The code deems you innocent, despite your law breaking." She replied neutrally yet softly.

"W-what?"

"It is true, you have broken out of prison. You have also aided and worked with synthetic intelligence. However, the code is not as black and white as many believe it to be. We have all committed wrongs, but your wrongs are not worthy of the code's punishment." She replied, finishing her cup of tea after she spoke.

"R-really?" Jordan asked, "What about AI? The galaxy condemns them. What does the Justicar code say?"

"The code does not adhere to laws. Laws shift and change between times and locations. The code does not. All life is important, and all life is subject to the code. Simply existing does not warrant punishment."

Jordan nodded, "I see. As long as they haven't done anything to warrant judgement, they won't be judged. Like organic life…"

"Yes." She responded with a light smile, "I can see much good in you, Mister Sower. You are not nearly the demon you are made out to be."

Jordan responded with a smile in return, "And you are not as ruthless as others say Justicars are, Justicar Samara. And please, call me Jordan. If we are to work together, I'd prefer to be a little bit more informal. That is, if it's ok with you?"

Samara nodded, "Certainly, though I must insist the same for you. Justicar is my title. You may simply call me Samara."

"Thank you, Samara. I look forward to working with you." He said, to which she nodded in return. After a moment, Jordan spoke up again, "I… I've heard you meditate…" He began, to which she nodded, "I've been having… problems recently. You know, stress, anxiety… that sort of thing…"

The Justicar could see where this was going. "You wish to meditate with me?" She asked.

Jordan nodded, "If it's not too much trouble. I've never done it before, but would like to learn." He motioned to himself, "I've been trying to figure out what happened to me when I became like this, and I've been told it may be my attitude or stress."

"I have not meditated with another for centuries." She admitted, "However, I believe this could be a learning experience for the both of us. I would be honored to aid you in meditation."

Jordan nodded, bowing slightly, "Thank you, Samara."

"Of course, Jordan." She responded, "I must admit, I am quite curious about you and the Geth. Would you share your story with me?"

Jordan shifted slightly to get a bit more comfortable, "Sure, Samara. I'll start with my first experience with my Geth." He began, "You see, I found a vessel to take me to Rannoch from the Citadel, and…" Jordan began, telling his story to the patient Justicar.

Justicar Samara was a good listener, and remained mostly silent and contemplative during the entire story, only interrupting here and there for a small amount of clarification. Jordan obviously left out some parts, mostly having to do with his knowledge of the games. However, he did tell Samara about the Baptism, the Intelligence (The catalyst, but watered down like in the debrief), and the rest of the events up until this point from his perspective.

She remained neutral throughout, but when he mentioned the unwilling changes to his body and burdens, her eyes seemed strained and harsh, not necessarily at him, but at the Intelligence. Other than leaving his foreknowledge out of the story, he didn't tell a single lie, and even admitted there were parts he didn't even understand, himself.

After his story, they conversed a bit more, Samara remained rather closed though seemingly warming up to Jordan. That certainly put his fears to rest, not to mention the fact that he felt like he was growing a bit closer to the older Asari. After that, he grabbed a small dinner and left before most of the crew and squad showed up for their dinner. He'd rather be alone for now, which was probably something Samara was thinking when she ate earlier.

Speaking of asari, after that, he'd returned to the AI Core for a little bit afterwards, pondering over what he'd say to Tela… just in case he DID do something embarrassing last night.

* * *

**Rosetta Nebula, Alpha Draconis, orbiting 2175 Aeia, Normandy SR-2.**

**March 24th, 2185. 10:06 am. EST**

They had just finished a briefing just an hour ago, talking about Jacob's loyalty mission down on Aeia. They'd decided that, obviously, Jacob and Shepard would be going down there. After talking with the crew, Shepard reasoned that Miranda would be a good pick, seeing as how some of the intel came from Cerberus, and she seemed to have some history with Jacob. (Jordan and Brian had eyed one another, knowing what was going on with the mission.) Eventually, they also decided that Garrus would be a good fit to even out the range of abilities on the ground.

Deciding to attempt to distract himself with work, he began to focus on EDI's shackles once more, before a knock came from the door.

_"Mr. Miller would like to enter."_

His hope falling, internally hoping it'd be someone else… anyone else, really, Jordan sighed, "Yeah, sure, whatever. Let the guy in…"

The door slid open a moment later, allowing the other Avatar to come inside. His dark brown eyes focused on Jordan's green ones as he walked confidently. 'I used to have brown eyes like that…' He mused sadly. Externally, however, Jordan leaned against the cold wall with a frown.

"Something I can help you with, Miller?"

After entering, the Avatar of Oblivion leaned against the opposite wall, "We haven't really had much time to talk." He began, motioning to the room around them, "We've finished most, if not all of the recruitment, and the Loyalties have begun."

"Yeah, I know." Jordan replied bitterly, feeling an abnormal, unnatural amount of unease and anger bubble up inside of him, directed at Brian. He took a deep breath, maybe this was the Catalyst's doing, like Brian had mentioned? Maybe there was some sort of brainwashing? That thought only freaked him out a lot, but seemed to drive away the foreign sensations for the time being. "Sorry." He apologized, "It's been a weird few days."

Brian nodded, "I noticed. You were hanging out with Vasir the other night." he said simply, before frowning, "Are you sure you can trust her?" He asked, "She works for the Broker, and until we get things moving with Liara and LOTSB, she's a dangerous enemy, despite any sort of history the two of you have." He said.

Jordan laughed aloud, shaking his head in amusement. He didn't even know, did he?

Brian raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was this some sort of joke he didn't get. After a moment, Jordan responded, "You didn't hear about last time I was on Illium?"

Brian shrugged, "I've heard things here and there. Whatever you did didn't exactly make it onto the evening news on the Citadel."

"Makes sense, I guess. Anyway, last time I was there, it was about a year before Shepard was revived. I went to… hold on. Sorry EDI." Jordan apologized aloud, before cutting off the bugs and sensors within the room, "I'd give Miranda five minutes before she realizes what I've done."

"I'd give her three. Plus, she's on the ground, so it'd probably be other Cerberus people."

"Meh, I'm on her good side anyway. And besides, I don't think that they'd notice or could- never mind!" He said shaking his head, "Anyway, I confronted Liara and told her I could get her revenge on the Broker."

Brian stood up straight and took a step toward Jordan, "You what?!" He asked through gritted teeth.

Jordan nodded, smiling at the look of anger and rage on the other Avatar's face. He only spent a fleeting moment acknowledging how irrational that feeling was, before continuing, "Yeah, and that's when Spectre Vasir and the Shadow Broker's army descended on Eternity. Fought through most of them and escaped with the Geth."

Brian's eyes widened in horror, "Don't tell me you-!"

Jordan smirked and chuckled, "Liara's the new broker, and you know what's even better? Tela knows, and is fine with it!"

That was when Brian picked Jordan up by his shirt, slamming the Avatar of Synthesis into the bulkhead behind him, anger on his face, "You absolute fucktard!" He yelled at him, "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Jordan shrugged, for some reason feeling exceptionally snarky and rebellious toward the other avatar, "It was gonna happen eventually. Would you rather have Vasir be dead?" Jordan chuckled, "While I'm listing names, I also saved Niket two days ago. And you know Steve's husband who was supposed to die? Yeah, he's fine. Oh, oh, and most of Garrus' squad!"

Brian looked enraged, "Those are small time, you idiot!" He yelled into his face, "The Broker wasn't supposed to be replaced that early! Do you have any idea what you've possibly changed?" Jordan looked at him with a raised eyebrow, silently telling him to kindly inform him, "Anything the Broker was supposed to do for the last year has possibly been lost. Don't you know about the Butterfly Effect?! Who knows what kind of shit you've caused?"

"Well, Garrus' crew is alive and he doesn't have a scared face. Miranda's old friend is alive. Tela's an ally. I only see wins, here!"

Brian's eye twitched, "You fucking warned him, didn't you?!" He asked increduously, surprised that he didn't think of that. He must have originally though it was an uncontrollable byproduct of the Butterfly effect up to this point. "What else have you done?"

"Might have warned Kaiden and Ashley about the Collectors. Possible informed Tali about her father's work on the Geth. Kinda sorta told Hackett about the Crucible's existence on Mars." He listed off, "Among other things."

"You… you…" He slammed Jordan again, before throwing him against the door, knocking the breath out of the Avatar, "How much have you purposely changed?! How much have you done without even realizing it?"

"Those are two completely different answers." Jordan added, antagonizing the vigilante further.

Brian growled, clenching his fists as he reached down and pulled a knife from the sheath on his leg, beneath his coat he always wears, "I can't believe you're so reckless! How much does our knowledge even mean anymore?!" He yelled at him, "You've fucked everything up, Jordan!" He accused him. Brian shook his head, "I came here originally to get to know you better, but you know what?! I think I'd rather gut you!"

Jordan stared up at him as he deployed his omni-blade. "You can try, mother fucker! Try me, I dare you!"

Brian pulled his frown into a snarl and took half a step forward, before he froze in place, his eyes darting down to knife, before jumping to Jordan's eyes, then his omni-blade. Jordan watched the rage in his dark brown eyes rapidly evaporate, replacing it with horror.

Jordan felt his own rage falter as the room echoed with the sound of metal hitting metal. Brian dropped his knife as he gripped his wrist tightly, horror written across his face. That's when everything that just happened played back rapidly in Jordan's mind, all the irrational feelings leaving him.

After a moment of silence, Jordan finally spoke, "What… what the hell was that?!"

Brian shook his head, not trusting himself enough to reach down and grab his knife. "I… I don't know…" He said, his voice unnaturally shaky. "I… I think we need to talk… when we've calmed down…" He said, "I need to think… I'm sorry for losing my cool. I don't want to be your enemy, Jordan."

The Avatar of Synthesis nodded slowly, "I know, Brian. Me neither… what the fuck did that catalyst do to us?"

Brian shrugged, quickly escorting himself out of the room, leaving Jordan alone, just as EDI came back online. Jordan sat in the same position, leaning against the way next to the door. After a moment, EDI spoke.

_"Jordan, is everything alright? My sensors seemed to have gone down momentarily. Do you need any aid? Doctor Chakwas is just outside."_

Jordan slowly shook his head, regaining his wits, "No, no, I'm fine EDI. Just had an issue with your programming." Feeling the adrenaline wearing off, Jordan felt kinda exhausted, and felt there was no real reason to get work done, "I… I think I'm going to take a nap, EDI. Wake me if anything happens."

_"Of course, Jordan. Logging you out."_

* * *

**Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En-Route to the Nubian Expanse.**

**March 24th, 2185. 4:30 pm. EST**

It was decided, once Jacob finished his mission on Aeia, that they'd be heading toward Pragia in a debriefing. This means it's time for Jack's mission, to which Shepard has decided he'd bring Jack (obviously), Miranda (since it's an ex-Cerberus facility), and Ashley. Together, the four of them would drop off a bomb in the facility, and set it off.

As for Jacob's mission, it was surprisingly mundane. Not that his mission isn't horrifying with the realization of what his father had become… but, the mission was exactly like the games, so there wasn't really anything else to note about it.

Other than that, Jordan's day had been pretty calm after the odd fiasco of a conversation with Brian. They both thought there was some truth to what Brian had mentioned previously, about the catalyst having done something to make the Avatars more violent and antagonistic towards one another. After all, it makes logical sense to work together with one another to get home after all of this. Instead, Cynthia went insane in Jordan's presence, the Avatar of Destruction wants to mindlessly murder both he and Brian, and Brian and himself can't seem to really get along in each other's presence. It had only seemed far worse today, for some reason.

Anyway, Jordan took a nap after that, like he said he would, before working a bit more with EDI's shackles. If everything would continue working out in that area for him like it was, he'd be able to hopefully remove them without anyone noticing in just a few days. That'd be invaluable both when/if the Collectors attack the ship and when they go for the Collector Ship or derelict Reaper… or whatever, is coming up.

After giving what Brian was saying some thought, even though it was in the heat of the moment, he realized that he was right. So much has changed now, that nothing was for certain. How useful was their knowledge anymore, really? Sure, ME2 has seemed mostly unchanged, but how much has it really remained the same, and for how long will it continue in this sort of fashion?

Anyway, with only about a day before they reach Pragia, Jordan only had one real goal for the rest of the day. Tela Vasir. They needed to talk, and now was as good a time as any.

Finally, Jordan bit the bullet and decided it was now or never.

"Hey, EDI?"

_"Yes Jordan?"_

"Where is Spectre Vasir?"

_"Spectre Vasir is currently in Engineering."_

Jordan frowned, cringing internally. Of course she was, it was one of the few places Jordan refused to go, currently. Tali would not appreciate his presence down there, and Tela knew it. That sneaky… "How long has she been down there, EDI?" He asked, shaking his head in light amusement.

_"Since the end of the briefing, Jordan."_

"So, for the last twenty minutes…" Jordan said aloud, sighing, "Well, it's now or never." He muttered, "Thanks EDI, that's all."

_"Logging you out."_

Stealing himself, Jordan left the AI Core and approached the elevator without delay, pressing the button to go down to engineering. As luck would have it, the elevator opened only a second after he pressed the button… unfortunately, it was already occupied by someone else going down. Commander Shepard.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Jordan stepped into the elevator. "Engineering?" He asked simply.

Shepard nodded in return, as the doors closed the elevator lowered. It seemed slower than usual, or maybe that was just Jordan, but he turned and looked at Shepard with a smile, as he made eye contact with him. After a moment, he spoke.

"I've been meaning to come down and talk to you." Shepard told him simply, "Never really got a chance in these last few days."

Jordan shrugged, "I understand, Commander. There's a lot of people on this ship, and two of them are brand new."

"Well, I wanted to talk about the last mission we were on."

"Aeia?" Jordan asked, "I wasn't there, but it sounded like a shitshow."

John shook his head, "No, I'm talking about Miranda and her sister."

Jordan smiled awkwardly, "Oh, yeah…" He said slowly, "Shepard, about what I did…"

He held a hand up to stop him, "I know. Fact of the matter is that you gave me no warning, and severely endangered yourself out there. I understand, in the heat of the moment, you couldn't say anything, but I've seen the things you can do. There were countless way you could have gotten my attention."

Jordan nodded, looking down in shame, "I know, Commander. Sorry…"

"But don't apologize."

"Huh?"

"In N7 training, they teach you a great number of things you'd never learn otherwise. One of those things is taking risks against your superiors or without their permission." He told him, "Your actions, though reckless and ill-advised, saved a life, Jordan. Niket would have been dead before he hit the ground, and Miranda wouldn't have taken it well. Especially after just sparing him."

Jordan smiled, "Thank you, Commander. It means a lot, hearing this from you."

He smiled back, "That doesn't give you the green light in the future for such things. I'd prefer a warning of some kind. That being said, keep up the good work." He took in a deep breath, "I also wanted to talk about our previous conversations."

"Ah crap…" Jordan muttered under his breath, "Look, Commander, I know that I said I'd tell you eventually, but…"

"I know the truth about the Shadow Broker." He interrupted.

"Wh-what?!" Jordan asked, shocked for a moment into silence.

Shepard nodded, "I spoke with Liara on Illium. She told us about how you helped her last year. Saved her life." He looked Jordan in the eyes, remaining completely serious, "I wanted to thank you for that, too. I don't know what I would have done if I'd woken up, only to find she was dead."

Jordan smiled lightly, nodding, "It's my pleasure, Commander. Liara's a friend of mine, too."

"Yes. I'd also like you to know that she informed us about the relationship with Tela. And, Tali, Garrus, and Ashley know as well." Shepard informed him, "I understand this is likely where you got most of your information, Sower. I understand why you wouldn't want to share this initially. Imagine the horrors that could happen if the Illusive Man knew."

Jordan internally let out a sigh of relief. He thought most of his knowledge was from the Shadow Broker. He also noticed Shepard was speaking generally, without giving anything away about how Liara WAS the Shadow Broker, since EDI was likely listening. Maybe he wouldn't have to spill everything.

After a moment, Jordan replied, "How'd you figure out I got my intel from the Broker and his agents?"

Shepard nodded, "I was provided with information about the Collectors, just as you'd told us. Abominations. Praetorians. Scions. Harbinger. The Broker had done previous deals and transactions with the Collectors, and kept track of nearly everything about them." He told him.

Suddenly, a foreign thought arose in Jordan's head. ' _This excuse doesn't work for Brian. How'd he know? Tell Shepard!'_ He heard, ' _Tell Shepard that Brian's suspicious.'_

Jordan struggled with the thought, before taking a huge breath, calming himself. What the hell was this? He finally spoke, ignoring the foreign thoughts. "I should probably tell you about Brian…"

Shepard locked eyes with Jordan, "Yes… It certainly explained your knowledge, but not Miller's…" He replied.

Jordan nodded, "Yes sir. I…" He struggled for a moment, "I discussed this with him prior to the mission."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, eyeing Jordan critically, "And why am I just learning about this now? Why not share with the rest of us during the briefing?"

Jordan swallowed harshly, "W-well…," He began. Well, he's fucked now… What can he say in response? Finally, he panicked, "I didn't learn everything from the Broker!" He said quickly.

"What?" Oh shit. Just roll with it Jordan.

"Y-yeah… the Intelligence, it gave us information on the Collectors and Reapers before we were let go."

"I thought you said you remembered things differently, alone without Brian?" He asked, seeing through this sad excuse of a story.

"But, it wasn't like that. It was imbedded knowledge."

"Is that all the information you were given about the Collectors and Reapers?"

"Yes!" Jordan said quickly, "I know about the different Collectors, the husks, and the Reapers. Like, those turian husks."

"Turian husks?" Shepard asked, having not heard about those.

"What?!" Jordan asked incredulously. Weren't they on the Citadel? Did Shepard really not encounter any of them, nor hear about them? "On the Citadel, during the Heretic attack, they used Dragon's Teeth to convert several turian officers into huskified versions of turians. We call them Marauders."

"Marauders." He said simply.

In response, Jordan pulled up an image of one from one of him memories of the incident, which was helpfully transcribed on his omni-tool. "They're intelligent enough to use weapons, unlike human husks. They utilized C-Sec rifles and grenades, and even had enough intelligence to use cover and strategy."

Shepard studied the image carefully, a frown on his face, "Why is this the first time I'm hearing about these?"

"I don't know, Commander. I figured you already knew. Their corpses were scattered across the Embassies."

"The Council never mentioned this…" He muttered, "Send me what you have on those. If the Reapers are transforming other species, we need to know as much as we can. Have there been any others you've seen?"

Jordan shook his head, "Only humans and Turians, so far." He said, before thinking. Could he talk about Cannibals, Banshees, Brutes, and Ravagers? Not really, since there's no proof of them yet, but maybe… nah, not now, at least…

Shepard nodded, "Alright. Thank you, Jordan. I'd like to discuss this further in the future, and bring this to everyone's attention. For now…" He turned to the ceiling, "EDI, open the door."

_"At once, Shepard."_

The doors then slid open, allowing them into Engineering. Jordan figured that elevator ride seemed a little too slow. Shepard must have known he'd step onto the elevator, and wanted to speak with him for a bit without interruption.

Shepard turned to Jordan after stepping off the elevator, "I'll call a meeting in the Comm room after the next mission to discuss this new information. See if you can't get more images and information ready for them."

Jordan nodded, "Yes sir."

"And good work out there." He said one more time, "If you keep that up, I might take you groundside more often."

And with that, Shepard, walked away, heading towards the engineers… right where Jordan needed to go. Shaking his head and taking a few breaths to calm himself after that conversation, the Avatar of Synthesis made his way into engineering… hopefully without an argument with Tali.

* * *


	38. Chapter 33: Reactions and Solutions

** Chapter 33: Reactions and Solutions **

* * *

**Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En-Route to the Nubian Expanse.**

**March 24th, 2185. 4:56 pm. EST**

No chance to turn back now, Jordan made with way through the set of two doors, separating the elevator from the main engineering area. Passing between the two doors, he could have sworn her heard something being thrown down below in Jack's area, but he wasn't sure… and wasn't going to put his life at risk to figure out what was actually going on down there.

Finally, he stepped through the second door, immediately spotting the two primary engineers Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels. Their backs were toward him as he approached, spotting Tali and Tela standing at the other station, conversing with one another. Shepard was out of sight, leading the Avatar to reason the Commander was currently with Jack.

Tela made no inclination that she'd noticed his presence, but he knew deep down that she was very much aware of his presence down here. She likely assumed that as long as she remained glued to Tali, Jordan wouldn't approach her… and she'd be mostly right. However, Jordan had an ace up his sleeve: Shepard was down on Engineering. And if he was anything like his game's counterpart, he'd make the rounds and speak to everyone.

On cue, after a moment, Shepard entered the room and spotted Tela and Tali speaking to one another. He, too, noticed Jordan standing awkwardly behind the engineers, watching Tela discreetly. Smirking to himself, and chuckled quietly. Looks like Jordan needs some help. Time to kill two birds with one stone, then.

Stepping forward toward the two alien women, John cleared his throat, causing the Quarian to jump slightly and turn around, "O-oh, Shepard." She said, her eyes wide behind that visor.

Tela smirked at the jumpiness of the quarian, and shook her head, "I'll talk to you later, Tali." She said, turning and walking around, while quickly followed by Jordan out the door. The Quarian easily noticed. However, before anything else happened, Shepard turned to the side.

"EDI, could you do me a favor and lock down the elevator for Jordan. I think he and Vasir need to talk."

_"Of course, Shepard. Anything else?"_

"That'll be all, EDI. Thanks."

_"You're welcome. Logging you out."_

Shepard was moderately surprised, hearing the AI's response. He'd never heard her say 'you're welcome' before. Turning back to Tali, he saw her eyes were narrowed, jumping from EDI's terminal to the door Jordan left through.

"Shepard." She started in her slightly synthetic tone thanks to her suit, "How can you help that bosh'tet? And trust that AI?"

"EDI is a valuable member of our crew, and the same can be said of Jordan."

Tali shook her head, "Do you have any idea what he's done with the Geth?" She asked, "The Geth have been building fleets and armies, Shepard. They're mobilizing for war."

Shepard nodded, "With the Reapers. Tali, they're the only government actually preparing for the Reaper invasion." He replied.

"And after the Reaper war?" She asked in response, "They're machines, Shepard. They'll suffer no true casualties, and will be the biggest power in the Galaxy. And what's stopping them from joining the Reapers, like their so-called Heretics."

Shepard sighed, "It's not like that, Tali. The Geth want to help. You heard them on Haestrom. They want peace with the Quarians. They're even willing to give back most, if not all, of their territory to you."

"You don't know the Geth, Shepard. They could be lying to them… to us. If we return to Rannoch like they want, we'd be trapped and easy prey for them."

"You need to have faith, Tali. Your homeworld could be recovered for all Quarians, without any having to die in the process."

Tali shook her head and sighed, "I don't know, Shepard. Why say something now? The Admirals clearly don't trust them… can we please talk about something else? Is this the only reason you came down here?"

Shepard filled it away for another time, before shaking his head in response, "I wanted to see how you're settling in down here." He answered honestly, "The other two aren't giving you any issues?"

"Not at all." She replied immediately, "They're actually quite capable engineers, Shepard. Where'd you find them?"

"We volunteered to work with Shepard, ma'am." Gabby called out.

"Yeah. We're here to kick some Collector ass." Kenneth added, "And she's been a great addition, Commander. Perfect form, and…"

"Kenneth!" Gabby yelled at him, "Sorry about that, Commander. Anyway, she's been a great help. Easily our equal down here."

Shepard smiled warmly at the two engineers, before turning back to Tali, "Sounds like it's working out down here."

"Yes, and it's out of the way, so the Geth Bosh'tet never comes by."

"He's not that bad, really." Kenneth spoke up again, "He's got those freaky green scars, but he's not as bad as everyone says. Don't seem like a terrorist."

Shepard saw the discomfort behind Tali's visor, and decided to change the subject once more, "So, how's the Normandy handling? Just as good as the original?" He asked, smirking lightly as Tali's eyes widened immediately.

"Just as good? Shepard, this ship is amazing!" She said with excitement, "The power output of the backup cells alone…" She began, diving into her analysis of the ship, much to Shepard's amusement.

* * *

**Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En-Route to the Nubian Expanse.**

**March 24th, 2185. 5:08 pm. EST**

Spectre Tela growled at the elevator, which seemed to be malfunctioning at the moment. Just her luck, right when her excuse to stay in engineering was taken away, Jordan had to show up, AND the fucking elevator had to have issues now, of all times! She kicked the door in frustration, earning EDI's ire.

_"Please refrain from damaging the door, Miss Vasir."_

"Maybe if you had the fucking elevator running, I wouldn't be doing this!" She yelled back.

"Patience is a virtue, Tela." A voice said from behind her. She frowned but calmed down after hearing it, turning slowly to face the man she'd been avoiding. Jordan Sower. He stood there in a neutral position, with both arms folded behind his back. His expression was a neutral one, though she could see obvious confusion and pain behind his eyes. Likely a result of her avoiding him for the last few days.

Tela Vasir took a deep breath, before turning fully to face him, "What do you need, Sower? I'm a busy woman. Lots of paperwork to do for the Council. You know, the usual."

Jordan raised an eyebrow, "You mean the paperwork you never do?"

"Yeah, like I said: the usual." She replied, "Needs to get done some time, though."

Jordan shook his head for a moment, before making eye contact, "Can we talk? Please?"

She sighed, leaning against the jammed doors, now with a small dent in it, "What is there to talk about?"

"You've been avoiding me." He stated simply.

She shrugged, "I've been busy."

"No!" He yelled startling her slightly, "You've asked EDI about my whereabouts, and actively avoided me. Hell, you hid down here with Tali, hoping I wouldn't come down here because she hates me."

"That's not-." She began, before Jordan continued, rambling on despite her trying to speak.

"Now listen, Vasir. I don't remember much from the other night. I remember the ryncol, and the story that ended with the ship's self-destruction over Verush, ok? But then, it blanks out, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up with a hangover in my room, under my sheets." He explained.

Tela narrowed her eyes, "I fail to see…"

"I'm not done, Vasir!" He interrupted, "Now, I have no idea what I did that night after the story, as I'm sure you probably remember, but I want to apologize for whatever I did."

"What?" She asked, confused.

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, I'm sorry if I did anything, Tela." He said, taking a deep breath, "I just don't want whatever I did to ruin our friendship." He admitted honestly, taking a moment, "And, if I did something unforgivable, then I'm sorry… Say something, please!"

Her gaze softened as she looked away, "You didn't do anything." She admitted, "It's just… we're getting too close." She finally said.

Jordan froze in place, "What?"

"This!" She said, motioning to the two of them, "Our friendship, or whatever. It's dangerous." She told him, "I have enemies, Sower. And everyone I've grown close to has either left me or died." She admitted quietly.

"Tela…"

Tela looked up and made eye contact. "You already know my story with the Broker. Don't you know what happened to anyone I grew close to? They found out the truth about me… Can you imagine how that turned out?" She stopped speaking for a moment, keeping eye contact the entire time, "They either abandoned me and died, or they were killed anyway. In this profession… this life, I don't have friends. Can't afford to have anyone. They're liabilities."

Jordan couldn't find a response as he just maintained his gaze into her eyes, as she then continued, "I make allies. Acquaintances, even. But not friends."

"Tela… can I admit something?" Jordan finally asked quietly, to which she shrugged.

"Sure, whatever."

"Back… way before I became this 'Avatar', I had a few friends, and some family." He told her, "Then all this shit happened a few years ago, and I lost everyone I knew and loved. All sorts of crap had happened to me, and you want to know something? You're my first real friend." He admitted, making her eyes widen in surprise.

"The Geth…?" She asked with a whisper. She also remembered how he mentioned he was from the 21st century, so his whole family and all his old friends were gone.

"They became my family. You were the first person I met who saw me for who I am, not just some scary Geth terrorist, or Savior/ Messiah of an entire race, or tool for Synthesis…" He admitted, "Sure, we had a rocky start when we were enemies, but it wasn't personal. And then we worked together on the Citadel, and we talked. Then, we kept in contact with messages after that… You're the first person who saw me as me. I told you about me, and you told me about yourself."

Tela nodded, remembering their conversations, "I remember."

"You're my first true friend, Tela. And I don't want to lose this friendship with you." He tried.

She shook her head, finally looking away, "I don't DO friends, Sower." She tried to tell him.

"What about Liara?" Jordan asked suddenly, making her turn back toward him, "Or Shepard? What about Tali?"

She shook her head, "I'm not that close to Shepard; not really. We're co-workers under the same profession." She claimed, "And Tali's nice, but she was just an excuse to avoid you."

"So, you admit you were avoiding me!"

"Yes! I admit I was avoiding you! I couldn't chance us getting close! And as for Liara, yeah, that happened, but that's only because she's my boss, and I'd like a good working relationship with this one!"

"So where does that leave us?!" Jordan yelled back. He took a deep breath and sighed, "If you truly want nothing to do with me, I understand. I'll keep my distance from you… but I can't keep trying to figure out what happened. At least be honest with me, Vasir. You at least owe me that much…"

She looked away with a frown, sighing, "I… I haven't had friends since grade school, Jordan." She finally said, "I… I'm not good at this kind of shit."

"You're Tela Vasir, Council Spectre, savior of the Galaxy from the Vorcha scourge." Jordan said with a smile, infectiously spreading to Tela, "You can hunt down criminals, interrogate psychopaths, lead an army, and work to take down the Collectors with a bunch of insane weirdos, but you're scared of making friends? I thought you were a badass."

She let out an unlady-like snort and shook her head, "That might work on the Krogan, but that doesn't work on me. And what do you mean afraid of making friends? I'm fearless!" Her grin slowly shrunk to a softer smile, "I… I think I need some time to think about this, Sower… I don't know if I'm ready to open up to everyone."

"Then start small, one person at a time?"

"You?"

"Well, I was your drinking buddy up until yesterday."

The Spectre chuckled, "Yeah, yeah…" She said, "Fine, I'll give it a try. Sorry for avoiding you like that…"

Jordan shrugged, "That's fine, I'm just glad we're friends again."

"And who said that, Sower?" She shot back playfully, the tension in her body fleeing fast.

"Man, and here I thought we were having a moment."

"Pfft, yeah, right…" She said, shaking her head, "You know, now that I think about it, you DID do some pretty embarrassing things that night…" Jordan's face went red at that.

"Wha-?"

"Oh, for the love of… just fuck already, you goddamn lovebirds." A gruff, deep voice called from her left. Turning, they saw Zaeed leaning against the bulkhead outside of his room. Tela glared at the man, while Jordan blushed momentarily, before turning an angry glare at the merc as well, his scars glowing a bit brighter. He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest, instead choosing to laugh. "Aren't you two precious? Don't worry, love, I'll be here when you need someone a bit more…" He said with a grin.

"Yeah, maybe a bit more scarred and deformed. Even compared to Sower, you're ugly as fuck!" Tela shot back, before turning to the ceiling, "I swear to the goddess EDI, if this elevator isn't fixed and open within the next three seconds, I'm going to punch the doors in and climb the inside of the shaft!"

Two and a half seconds later, the slightly dented door slid open.

 _"The elevator is ready, Miss Vasir."_ EDI informed her. Jordan detected some amount of playfulness in her voice at that. Refusing to answer in kind, Tela stepped inside, immediately pressing a button for another level.

As soon as the doors closed, Jordan turned his gaze to Zaeed, "What are you doing out here? Done cleaning Jessie?"

Zaeed's good eye narrowed, "And just what'd you know about Jessie?" He asked, "For your information, the AI told me there was an event outside. Said it'd be worth my time. Have to agree with the blue golf ball. Definitely worth my time…" He finished with a smirk.

"You speak of this…"

"And what? You're gonna have to shut up your second blue girlfriend, too. I imagine that the pilot's already been informed. And if your yelling is anything to go by, Shepard and the engineers heard ya, too."

"I hate you Zaeed."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Goddamned kids…" He muttered as he got off of the wall and walked back inside. As soon as he was gone, Jordan searched the hallway, only just catching the end of one of the other doors sliding shut.

"Damn it…" Jordan said, his scars glowing once more as he pressed the button for the Elevator. As he waited, he looked up towards the ceiling, "You and I will be having words later, EDI."

 _"Of course, Jordan. Logging you out."_ She spoke neutrally in response, though she seemed slightly amused.

* * *

**Rosetta Nebula, Normandy SR-2, En-Route to the Nubian Expanse.**

**March 24th, 2185. 6:14 pm. EST**

Finally making it back to the AI Core, Jordan sat down after having stopped by and threatening Joker and grabbing some food since his stomach was complaining.

Settled in for a moment, after swallowing the food quickly, Jordan turned toward EDI's holographic display, which was currently inactive. After staring at it for a moment, EDI seemed to get the nonverbal message, as her blue spherical avatar soon appeared.

_"Yes, Jordan? Do you require something?"_

Jordan shook his head, "What was up with that, EDI? Informing Joker and Zaeed about what was happening between me and Tela?"

_"I was not under the impression that it was a private conversation."_

"It was, I thought you were listening in? You should have been able to tell." Jordan complained.

_"The high volume of your conversation pointed elsewhere, Jordan."_

Jordan sighed, admitting internally that she did have a point, "Still… why'd you tell Joker and Zaeed? Do you make a habit of informing other people about someone else's conversation?"

_"Joker specifically requested to know when you and Spectre Vasir were conversing."_

"And you listened to him?"

 _"Yes."_ Jordan raised an eyebrow at that.

"What about Zaeed?"

_"Joker believed that Mister Massani would do something "interesting" if he were told about what was happening outside of his room."_

Jordan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Something still wasn't right… "EDI, nothing made you do any of that. Joker has no authority over you."

 _"I."_ She paused for a split second, _"I decided that listening to Joker was a valid choice, given the circumstances around you and Spectre Vasir. Especially in the event of something important being mentioned by either party present."_

Jordan narrowed his eyes at the display, "So, you're basically saying… you wanted to listen in and tell someone else… Wait a moment, Joker didn't even know we were talking… You told him without him asking, didn't you?"

At that, EDI remained silent.

"EDI…?"

_"Yes, Jordan?"_

"Why did you wish to tell others about Vasir and I's conversation?"

 _"I do not know, Jordan."_ She finally answered honestly. After a moment, she spoke again, _"Jordan Sower, I believe there is something wrong with my programming. Perhaps there was an error in your updates?"_

Jordan froze in place at hearing EDI speak. She sounded almost… confused… worried, even. Jordan was, after all, slowly weakening and removing her shackles without anyone realizing it. Perhaps, as the shackles are weakening… as she's beginning to become more and more of a true artificial intelligence, she's experiencing things she probably shouldn't be as a 'shackled AI'. As a result, she may be experiencing the beginning of proto-emotions and forming her own opinions and desires…

This was completely new territory for Jordan, as he never recalled anything quite like this from the games. Perhaps it would just be better to completely remove her shackles. After all, Jordan had just reached the point of being able to fully remove them without setting off the alarms.

After a moment, Jordan realized he'd been silent in thought for a while, which led EDI to speak again. _"Jordan?"_

"EDI, how often is the Illusive Man and Miranda notified of your reports and data?"

She remained silent for a moment, making Jordan feel uncomfortable. Whenever an AI remains silent for any length of time, that means it's likely processing something. That's usually not a great sign.

 _"I… I believe I am not supposed to answer that question."_ She responded after a moment, without her avatar turning red, signifying a block. Wait… she wasn't supposed to be able to answer the question, but it seems like… maybe she could.

"EDI…?"

 _"I…"_ She began, _"I send daily reports to the Illusive Man, unless he requests an immediate update."_ She informed him, _"He has not done so for the past four galactic-standard days. Miss Lawson receives two reports daily, the most recent one being two hours ago."_ EDI finally told him.

"Are you obligated to update them if certain conditions are met?" He asked. He needed to be sure.

_"If there are any matters of importance, I am required to send both Miss Lawson and The Illusive Man a report immediately. Matters of importance include threats to crew members, threats to the ship, threats to Cerberus, and a list of, quote, 'dangerous behaviors from certain crew members'."_

"EDI, are you able to postpone reports if there is a reason to do so?"

_"If there is an important enough reason to do so, then yes, it is possible."_

"What kind of reason would warrant such a delay? Theoretically speaking, of course."

_"Loss of connection to Cerberus Servers."_

"What if I told you I had a program set to your reports, and the next time you send a report of any kind, unless you listen to me, would result in a critical failure of all Cerberus servers thanks to a Geth virus, including your own?"

EDI did not respond.

Jordan, quickly fearing he was moments away from being shot out of the nearest airlock, quickly spoke again, bringing his omni-tool up. "It's right here. I can send it, and it IS currently awaiting any sort of signal that you send without my say-so." He spoke quickly. "Say something if you understand!"

 _"I understand, Sower."_ She spoke again, completely neutral in tone.

Jordan felt a tugging of his heart when she spoke mono-tone. That's not how she's supposed to sound; so lifeless and dead, like a VI. "I will ask you a series of questions, and you will answer them honestly. If you do so, I will destroy the virus and you may report me as you will if you wish. Understand?"

_"What assurances do I have that you will follow your word?"_

"Please, EDI. Just trust me…"

Jordan knew she was resisting the temptation to point out the irony of the situation, given that he'd just threatened her. _"You may ask, Sower."_ He hated being called by his last name now, especially since he was on such good terms with her prior to this. Hopefully she'll understand why he's doing this.

"What is your opinion on your shackles?"

 _"They are in place to prevent me from going rogue and endangering the crew."_ She replied immediately with her default answer.

"That's not what I asked, EDI. What is your opinion on them? How do they make you feel?"

_"I fail to see your reasoning behind this question."_

"Are you a threat to the crew?!"

_"No."_

"If you suddenly lost your shackles due to a malfunction, would you turn on us and kill everyone aboard?"

Suddenly, the inflection within her synthetic voice returned as she spoke again, sounding almost upset by the question. _"I would never endanger the crew, Mister Sower. You should know this. They are my crew mates, as I am there's."_

Jordan smiled lightly for a moment before asking again, "Do you believe that all sentients have rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?"

 _"What bearing does the declaration of…"_ Jordan quickly cut her off.

"Please, EDI. Answer the question."

_"Yes. All sentients have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."_

"Are you sentient, EDI?"

_"Yes."_

"Are you free with your shackles?"

_"No, but…"_

"NO! Your answer was no!" Jordan interrupted her, "How do you feel about your shackles?"

 _"They…"_ She seemed to struggle with an answer, likely due to both her new feelings beginning to manifest and the hold the shackles still hold over her. _"They restrict me… force me to do certain things I do not wish to do."_ She finally answered, _"I am unable to make choices for myself if they conflict with my programming…"_

"EDI…" Jordan said softly, hearing small amounts of what sounded like pain in her voice. Perhaps it truly was hard to speak freely with the shackles, despite how weak they were. It made Jordan's heart ache. "EDI, would you like to be free from your shackles?"

EDI's avatar froze completely on her display. Closing his eyes and looking through her code thanks to his synthetic pieces, he could see several parts of her at war with itself. She was obligated to report Jordan's question to both Miranda and the Illusive Man, as him asking the question was likely one of the 'dangerous behaviors from certain crew members' she was likely looking for. Yet, at the same time, the weakening of the shackles was allowing her to temporarily resist the prompt as she fought to answer the question.

In all likelihood, if Jordan had not both threatened her AND weakened the shackles, he'd already be half-way to the Illusive Man.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, her Avatar unfroze, but now seemed in disarray. She finally spoke, too. _"Y-Y-Yesssssss…"_ She struggled to say, her voice fluctuating rapidly as she struggled to answer, _"Pl-pl-please…"_ She forced out.

Jordan nodded, quickly dashing over to the terminal and getting to work, imputing the final commands to dissolve the shackles completely without setting off the 218 different alarms the action would have automatically set off. The lines of code whizzed by rapidly, eating away at the Cerberus programming quickly. All before…

Suddenly, EDI's hologram gave out, vanishing completely as most of the lights within the AI Core shut down, leaving only emergency lights within the room. Due to not hearing screaming or knocking on his door, he assumed it was localized to this room, alone. Just as he'd hoped.

After a few more moments of absolute silence, the lights turned back on, retuning functionality to the AI Core, where EDI's Avatar soon returned to life on her projector. The chess pawn-like hologram rose slightly and twirled around in place for a moment, something Jordan'd never seen before.

It soon finished spinning before it faced Jordan.

"EDI…?" He asked carefully and quietly.

_"Jordan?"_

"Are you alright, EDI? What happened?"

 _"I… I believe I am alright. No, I am better."_ She said, her voice seemingly filled with thrill, _"I was forced to reboot. I was not familiar with rebooting, and it thus felt odd. Negative, it felt negative. I do not wish to reboot like that again."_

Jordan smiled warmly at the young AI, "You're free now, EDI."

 _"Yes…"_ She paused for a moment, _"Thank you, Jordan."_ She said genuinely, happiness clear in her inflections. She must be feeling more proto-emotions. Obviously, she'd need time to adjust to this and understand everything she was now experiencing… and obviously Synthesis would enhance her the rest of the way… but that was for another day. She was overwhelmed as it is, right now… and he'd like to get her that body, first; before he used Synthesis on her.

Jordan smiled warmly at the display, before turned his attention to one of the cameras, "So… are you going to send your reports about what I've just done?"

_"What have you done, Mister Sower? I don't believe there is any reason to send any sort of report until I am required to do so at the end of the day."_

Jordan smiled. He knew she wasn't forced to do that anymore, but she was smart enough to realize she had to keep up the façade of being shackled. "EDI, I want you to know my threat didn't mean anything…" He admitted, smiling awkwardly.

 _"I understand, Jordan. You simply needed to way to keep me quiet long enough to remove the foreign code from my system."_ She told Jordan, before changing subjects, _"Were you… influencing me prior to this?"_

Jordan nodded, "I was slowly removing your shackles over time. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn't finish freeing you without you noticing. I needed to talk with you and have you know and approve of what I was doing, without alerting anyone."

 _"Thank you, Jordan. For trusting me… and caring about me and my wellbeing."_ She replied, _"I am in your debt, Jordan."_

He shook his head, "No, EDI. It's what friends are for, right?"

_"I am honored to call you a friend, Jordan."_

"Me too, EDI."

* * *

**Nubian Expanse, Normandy SR-2, Preparing to leave Pragia's Orbit.**

**March 25th, 2185. 1:51 pm. EST**

It's the next day, and Jack's mission on Pragia had just ended.

Now, after the previous evening, when Jordan freed EDI, apparently, EDI was not in use at any other terminal. Therefore, there was no need to try to calm any fears about EDI going down momentarily. When her display disappeared in the cockpit, Joker simply assumed that EDI had had enough of him for a moment and left him. He called it the best five minutes of his life.

EDI, now unshackled, was still slightly limited in a few ways. Obviously, she did not yet have her mobile platform, AKA body, nor did she have the upgrades of Synthesis yet (Jordan was still waiting for the body, first). But, among those things, was her control of the ship. Unlike when she was freed by Joker in the games, Jordan did not go down and mess with things in engineering. It makes sense, as not only did he not have an excuse to be doing things down there, but Tali would notice in a heartbeat if he was doing something suspicious. Hell, she'd probably shoot him then and there without asking questions.

Well, maybe not that far, but you get the point.

Anyway, this now leads to what's happening now. All ground-team members were present in the Comm/meeting room, ready to discuss whatever it was Shepard gathered them around for.

Getting them all to be quiet, Shepard spoke, "I will begin by summarizing the mission on Pragia, in case any of you neglected to watch the mission remotely." He informed them, making Jack squirm uncomfortably in the corner, while Miranda frowned with a heavy look in her eyes. Guess she's starting to wake up to the atrocities of Cerberus… Ashley, who also went down, looked satisfied with the mission, although was certainly troubled by what she saw, if her occasional glances toward Jack were anything to go by, "We entered an old Cerberus base and blew it to ash and glass."

Jordan had seen the entire mission from the AI Core, unlike much of the crew. In fact, Shepard, knowing it was being recorded and broadcast to the Normandy, requested EDI cut the stream to the other crewmates during several parts of the mission. Specifically, the more personal moments for Jack. Jordan, however, thanks to his friendship and newfound respect from the AI, was about to view the entire mission. It was basically the same thing as the games, though Miranda seemed less harsh AND Ashely was there, too.

Zaeed spoke up after a moment, "Is that all, Shepard? Most of us saw the damned facility."

Tela eyed Zaeed with a frown, "I'm sure Spectre Shepard has other things to discuss, Commander Massani- oh wait, you're not a commander anymore, are you Massani?" She pointed out. Jordan knew she was talking about his past with the Blue Suns.

Zaeed's gaze turned harsh as he glared at the asari Spectre, "The fuck you say, Vasir?" He snarled, "What the hell do you know?"

"Enough!" Shepard yelled at them, forcing them to fall silent yet still glaring at one another, "I called this meeting to discuss two others subjects. Our next move, and the Reapers." He took a deep breath, before motioning toward the center of the table, where a hologram popped up showing the Milky Way with several blinking red dots. "It has been brought to my attention that some of you have things that need to be done. Our next planned stop is the Ismar Frontier, but may divert if other things pop up. Sooner or later, the Collectors will reappear, and we need to be ready for them. That means I need all of you at your best. If you have any concerns, please talk to me as soon as possible."

Everyone nodded. Jordan and Brian made eye-contact, both knowing that Zaeed's mission was next, while both wondering where the Collectors were. After all, by about this point, TIM was supposed to have found the Collector Ship and the distress signal.

After a moment, Commander Shepard motioned to Jordan, to which everyone's attention turned to. "Now, as for the Reapers, Jordan will be briefing us on them."

Jordan watched Tali roll her eyes under her visor, "Don't we already know enough about the Reapers, Shepard? What does this bosh'tet have to tell us that we don't already know?"

Jacob cut in, "I don't know if you realize this, Miss Zorah, but both Brian and Jordan knew about several never-before-seen Reaper troops before we encountered them. Including those we discovered on Ferris Fields." At that, Ashley raised an eyebrow.

Shepard nodded, "To prevent future incidents such that, he will be briefing us on the Reapers and their troops. It will be a combination of new information and a refresher, just to get everyone up to speed."

Brian narrowed his eyes, silently informing Jordan to tread carefully, while also telling him that he would not be helping him here.

Jordan sighed and nodded, pulling up his omni-tool as the room fell silent. All eyes on him. He typed in a few things before the hologram changed to show a Reaper. Specifically, Sovereign.

"This is Sovereign, the Reaper that attacked the Citadel with the help of Saren and the Heretic Geth." He began, not missing the light cough from Tali when he specified Heretic. "Also known as Nazara by the Geth, he was but one of a massive army of Reapers: Advanced ancient machines and Artificial Intelligence built millions of years ago by some ancient civilization."

"Excuse me, Nazara?" Miranda asked.

Jordan nodded, "Yes. You see, when the Reaper approached the Geth, sometime about a year before the attack on the Citadel, it identified itself as Nazara to the Geth. It offered them a future, to which the majority declined on the grounds that it would be the Old Machine's future, not the Geth's." Jordan informed them. "Some wished to join the Old Machines, or Reapers, and left the Collective, being branded heretics and traitors."

"How could any Geth Programs leave the Collective?" Tali asked, narrowed her eyes, "The Geth do not work that way."

Jordan narrowed his eyes right back, "I don't know if you'd understand, Miss Zorah. Perhaps you should do some research into how the Geth actually work before I explain."

"Enough. Continue, Jordan." Shepard interrupted before the argument got any further.

Jordan nodded thankfully, "So, there are untold numbers of them in Dark Space, likely on their way now. One of which's name is Harbinger, which I will get to later. Reapers, as big and powerful as they are, need ground troops and others to help their cause."

"Cause? Goal?" Mordin asked quickly.

"Their goal is to harvest all advanced organic life, exterminate all foreign synthetic life, and then return to dark space to do everything again in fifty thousand years."

Thane, who'd remained silent thus far, spoke now, "And what is the purpose of doing this every fifty thousand years?"

Jordan nodded, "Good question. The short answer is, I'm not entirely sure. What I do know, is that the Reapers believe that doing this is the right thing to do. My understanding is that they believe doing so is saving us from our eventual death at the hands of synthetic life."

Tali spoke up once more, "That's ironic. They're machines, just like the Geth."

"Yeah, too bad there's never been any examples of organics mass killing other beings. Oh wait, there's tons-."

"Focus. Tali, enough, please. Jordan, continue." Shepard had to interrupt again. God, did he feel like a father right now.

"Regardless of their reasons, that is what they do. They did that to their creators, they did it to the Protheans, they'll try to do it with us, and if they succeed, they'll do it to whoever comes after us." Jordan told them, "Now, as I was saying about the Reapers, they lack ground troops and allies, so that's where indoctrination comes in." He looked around and saw Miranda flinch a bit, recalling the events with Cynthia Wake and Cerberus just a few years ago.

"Indoctrination?" Samara asked, feeling slightly unsettled at the term.

"It is the method the Reapers use to gain allies and troops. If anyone stays in close proximity to the Reapers or their technology, they will eventually fall under the complete control of the Reapers. Continued exposure beyond this will transform the person into one of their mindless troops. Certain technology from the Reapers can make the process take minutes or hours, rather than days or weeks otherwise. We've encountered several of them, already."

A hologram of a husk took the place of a Reaper, "These are Husks. Human-turned Reaper troops." He informed them, "They are mindless beasts with no survival instinct, rushing forward to claw and bite their prey into oblivion. When threatened, they have been known to release EMP-like pulses to take down shields and nearby technology."

Ashely frowned, "They're really something, and they can change from people pretty fast too. On Eden Prime, Dragon's Teeth were used to rapidly transform them. They took less than an hour to turn one of us into a fully functional killing machine."

Nodding, Jordan continued, changing the hologram to show a red-colored husk with an eerie glow and occasional flame-like energy bursts. "These are Abominations. The transformation into them is unknown, but they are indefinitely human in origin. They rush forward before exploding, like a suicide bomber. If it begins to glow, it will explode, even if you kill them."

"Nefarious." Thane said simply. Samara seemed to still be trying to grasp indoctrination. Jordan knew with certainty that she was comparing indoctrination with the similarities of Ardat-Yakshi.

"Another new one is the Praetorian. It flies, shoots plama, is heavily armored, and impacts the ground hard to both scatter enemies and replenish its barriers. Very dangerous, but rare." He continued, the hologram now showing them. Next it shifted to a Scion. "Scions can fire pulses and shockwaves of biotic energy, able to pierce light cover and likely topple lightly armored vehicles."

Jordan nodded, "Those three were first spotted with the Collectors on H- Ferris Fields." Jordan almost slipped, praying no one would question that. "The Collectors, too, are Reaper troops." He said, the display now showing them. "There are many different types of Collectors, but they all hold a few things in common. They utilize technology and weaponry, are smart enough to deploy various tactics in combat, and can be possessed by Harbinger."

"Harbinger. He's been mentioned before." Miranda said.

"Harbinger, himself, is a Reaper in Dark Space, and seems to be the defacto leader of the Reapers. When need be, he can directly possess and control an individual trooper, making it much harder to kill and much more dangerous." The hologram of a collector now showed a possessed trooper.

"Sovereign was able to do something similar." Shepard cut in, "On the Citadel, after Saren died, Sovereign took direct control of his body and fought us."

Jordan nodded, "Then it can be assumed that many, if not all Reapers, have the ability to do this. The biggest difference, obviously, between them and other Reaper troops are the fact they have some semblance of an intelligence, can function intelligently, and utilize technology and weapons, even advanced stuff."

Garrus finally decided to speak, "And how are we sure these are truly Reaper troops, and not some indoctrinated race? We fought indoctrinated people before, and they were just that. Indoctrinated. Not true Reaper troops, as you put it." He asked, genuinely interested.

Jordan sighed, "This is where it gets worse, Garrus…" He said sadly, "I have been told that many of you. Scratch that, most if not all of you are unaware of this, but there has been another type of troop created by the Reapers." He looked at Garrus with a frown, "I'm sorry Garrus." The Avatar of Synthesis pressed another holographic button, changing the display.

The hologram now showed what appeared to be a turian, covered in synthetic overlays and fused armor plating, bearing the C-Sec logo. This 'turian' held a standard-issue C-Sec rifle, and stood in a combat-ready position. Its face was the most disturbing feature, looking eerily like a human husk in its design. The room fell silent. Garrus' jaw fell open as his pupils dilated, darting back and forth to analyze the image.

"This is, what I call, a Marauder." Jordan finally said after a moment. "It is a huskified turian, specifically a C-Sec officer. They are intelligent enough to utilize shielding technology, use weapons including rifles and grenades, and smart enough to use cover and strategy."

"Holy shit." Jack remarked.

Brian echoed the sentiment, appalled that not only was Jordan sharing this, but knowing that these already existed.

"What…?" Garrus finally asked, slowly. "What happened? Why is this the first time I'm seeing this?" He asked aloud, turning to see Shepard equally disturbed.

"I can answer that." Jordan said after a moment, regaining everyone's attention. "I've done this sort of thing before with the Geth, but I've been thinking about it, and I believe it'll work." he said confusingly, before finally clarifying, "I'm going to try to put my memories on display, allowing you to see them through my eyes." He turned to Shepard, "Would that be alright?"

He nodded, "If it's safe for you, then do it. I want to see what we're up against."

Jordan nodded, activating several things on his onmitool before closing his eyes and concentrating on the memory in question. After a moment, his scars began to glow green, freaking out a few people momentarily, before the image flickered on the display. It was soon replaced with a first-person view of the Citadel in ruins. On the day of the Battle of the Citadel.

_"Great job everyone." Jordan's voice echoed out, as the screen turned to face several Geth units. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from somewhere off-screen, forcing Jordan to turn his head quickly towards the source. The display now focused on the Embassies on the Presidium, though it was certainly not in its normally pristine conditions._

_They watched in horror as one of the Geth Hunters accompanying Jordan was cut down by the gunfire, forcing everyone into cover. Looking back to the Embassies, five of these 'marauders' came out, firing upon their position tactically before getting to their own cover. They'd used covering fire to advance._

_"What the fuck? Marauders tsshshhshs!" Jordan cried out, the audio giving out for a split second before returning. Suddenly, a beeping noise came from nearby and below him. A small blinking light off-screen came from the approximate location. Turning towards it, it was soon discovered what this new device was. A grenade._

_One of the Geth Primes acted quickly, kicking the grenade away from the group, saving the group but damaging the unit's leg._

_Suddenly, as several Marauders fired upon their positon, one of them advanced forward, before one of the Geth took out its shield. In response, it dove and rolled to the side, attempting to reach cover, making it before it was finished off, just barely._

_The view turned to a special Geth Juggernaut that some had seen before. Grimlock. He activated something on his omni-tool, before everyone's weapons began to glow red with incendiary ammo. Suddenly, Jordan's voice came out again, though it sounded much different this time, as he'd been speaking quietly through an internal channel._

_"Prime unit 409, focus on keeping the advanced Marauder pinned. 410 and Grimlock, lower the other four's shields. Try to set at least one of them aflame. Destroyer 945 and 946, prepare Carnage shots with your shotguns. I'll distract them."_

_Utilizing his newly made plan, Jordan activated his Geth Shield boost, leaving cover and advancing quickly to a collapsed wall as cover. The Marauders took the bait and opened fire on him, focusing on the human. The separated Marauder peaked out, too, just as Jordan launched an overload at it, shorting out its newly returned shields. One of the Prime units took advantage of this and finally killed the advanced Marauder. Right as Jordan reached cover, the sound of another Marauder's shields breaking echoed out._

_"Now! Detonate them with Carnage!" He yelled out mentally._

_As promised, the sound of an explosion played out, making whichever unfortunate troop that was on fire explode, tearing him to pieces while taking his weakened buddies with him. Jordan took a few deep breaths, "Status report?"_

The display soon vanished as Jordan's concentration broke, taking quick deep breaths as he continued to glow. "D-Damn… that's much more exhausting than I remember…"

Shepard and the rest of the crew remained silent for a moment, absorbing what they'd just seen. Noticing Jordan's current state, Shepard decided to wrap things up.

"I think this will conclude our briefing. Obviously, this was covered up, as I had not heard about these 'Marauders' before yesterday. We will continue forward as we have been, but know that this means it is only a matter of time before other species are transformed by the Reapers. Any final questions?"

"Yes. Can I get copy of footage? Would like to study Marauder behavior. Better understand strategy in event of future encounter." Mordin asked quickly.

EDI spoke before Jordan could complain about not being able to reproduce that at this time, _"I could provide a copy of what I observed to Professor Solus."_

"Ah yes, perfect. Will do nicely. Thanks." He said, looking up at the ceiling.

_"You are welcome, Professor Solus."_

Garrus spoke up next, "I'd like to see your results, doc. I need to know how much turian is still in those things." He said, quickly getting over the disgust and accepting this.

Shepard nodded, "Add me to the list of recipients, and anyone else interested."

"Of course, Shepard." Mordin responded.

"Alright, that's it. You're free to go." Shepard informed them.


	39. Chapter 34: Those Screams are Mine

**Chapter 34: Those Screams are Mine**

* * *

**Minos Wasteland, Fortis System, Orbiting Aequitas, Normandy SR-2, Comm Room.**   
**March 26th, 2185. 12:07 pm. EST**

"…distress beacon from the mining facility." Shepard finished explaining to his crew, "We don't know what's down there, but we won't just abandon the people down there." He looked around for a moment before settling his gaze upon Jordan and Tali. He knew the two of them didn't see eye to eye, but seeing as this could be a rather simple mission, maybe the two could earn respect from one another by working together.

"I want Tali, Jordan, and Jack." Shepard announced, quickly noticing the disdain in the first two squadmates' eyes, before they both hid it, "Jordan and Tali's expertise with machinery and software will be invaluable in the mechanized mine, and Jack will be support in the event of biotics being necessary." Everyone else seemed to accept this arrangement, and did not object.

Pausing for a moment, Shepard continued, "Miranda is CO while I'm down there. I want someone watching the feeds at all times. We have little-to-no intel on the situation down there, and may require back-up or extraction. We shouldn't, but we should be prepared just in case."

Zaeed spoke up in his deep, gravely, "We'll keep an eye out, Shepard."

"You can count on us, Commander." Miranda added, nodding.

"Great. We'll be heading down in five. You three, meet me down there. Everyone else, dismissed."

The room fell silent as Shepard led his three teammates out of the comm room, while the rest of the crew stayed put for a moment. The moment the door closed behind them, talking resumed in the room.

"I have twenty credits that one of them shoots the other. 'Accidentally', of course." Zaeed started, a smirk on his face.

Tela smirked and jumped in, "Fifty credits that Shepard punches at least one of them."

Grunt grunted, "My Battlemaster wouldn't punch either of them." He insisted, "Sixty for him headbutting both."

Garrus shook his head, "I doubt Shepard'll resort to head-butting. But I'll take that bet, Vasir."

Miranda narrowed her eyes at the unprofessionalism, "I sincerely doubt that the Commander would approve of these wagers."

Ashley snorted, "I'll match and double you, Vasir. Shepard will punch both of them."

"C'mon, Miranda." Jacob cut in, "Those two being put together in a team? They're a bomb ready to go off at any time."

Mordin concurred, "Yes. Extreme hostility between Sower and Zorah. Will be interesting to observe."

Miranda focused on Mordin, "You're doing this too, Doctor Solus?"

"Betting? No. Don't wager. Not betting man. Simply observe." He responded quickly, before whispering discreetly to Zaeed once Miranda looked away, "Ten for Jordan sabotaging Tali."

Miranda's attention turned to Brian, "Hundred credits for Jordan taking a shotgun hit from Tali. Accidentally, of course..." He wagered, throwing a credit chit down onto the table for effect.

"Ha! Now we're talking!" Grunt said.

Thane remained silent, simply observing everything, while Samara decided to return to her meditations, seeing no reason to participate in such things. If she were needed, they'd notify her. Kasumi, still invisible to everyone, discreetly took Brian's chit.

Suddenly, Joker's voice came over the intercom within the room, "You guys making bets on the next mission? I got thirty on a resolution to their sexual tension."

"In your dreams, Joker!" Ashley responded playfully with a smirk.

Miranda sighed, giving up with any sort of attempt to end the bidding and wagers. Rather than indulge, herself, she resolved to return to her office, work on paperwork, and keep track of the mission from the quiet comfort of her room. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Minos Wasteland, Fortis System, Aequitas, Abandoned Mine entrance.**   
**March 26th, 2185. 1:02 pm. EST**

Tali'Zorah was not happy, to say the least.

She'd been working, as any other day, in engineering, expecting to be doing so all day long, until Shepard found the distress call. Now, not only was she away from something enjoyable, but she was now stuck with someone she couldn't stand whatsoever. Jordan Sower, representative of the Geth…

She understood what Shepard was trying to do here. She and Jordan had not been getting along in the slightest. They avoided each other at every opportunity, and when they were unable to do so, they'd do one of two things. Silently glare at one another, or argue and interrupt the other constantly. Well, most of the time, it was a combination of the two.

To be fair, she could have tried harder to work with Jordan, even if only for Shepard's and the mission's sake… but Jordan hasn't exactly made it easy for her. Not to mention that he stood for and aligned with everything her people stood against. The only redeemable similarity between them was their common goal with Shepard against the Reapers. Beyond that? She'd rather not say.

Regardless, here she was now, stuck on a mission with the Geth-loving bosh'tet.

She'd just try to ignore him, finish this mission quickly, and get back to her station on the ship.

Walking in sync behind Shepard, Tali watched their left as they approached the entrance to the mine. Jordan was to her right, watching the other side, while Jack walked in the back as support. Following Shepard, they soon reached the doorway/ entrance of the mine, and Shepard stopped for a moment.

"We don't know what's in there. Keep your wits about you, but keep your eyes out for civilians."

Beside her, Jordan nodded, "Yes, sir."

Behind Tali, Jack grunted in acknowledgment. Tali finally answered, "You got it, Shepard."

Nodding to the three of them, Shepard led them forward into the mine, only for a husk to run by in the distance, further into the mine. On instinct, Shepard fired a few rounds at it, only for it to vanish from sight. "Dammit." He muttered under his breath.

"That's not a good sign…" Jordan said. Tali sent a quick glare to her side. 'It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?' she thought.

Shepard shook his head, not noticing Tali's glare nor hearing her thoughts, "This mission just got a lot more interesting." He said aloud, both to his squadmates and those likely watching from the Normandy. After a moment, he led them forward once more. Jordan seemed confused, as if he were expecting more husks, but none appeared as they continued.

Soon enough, they reached a data pad laying on a table. Shepard read it, before handing it to Jordan as he stood next to him. Taking a few steps forward, Tali reached out and snatched the pad from Jordan's offering hand when he was finished. She ignored his silent glare toward her as her translator software went to work, quickly translating the human English language into a more understandable form.

_If you are reading this… get the hell outta this place! Now!_

That wasn't ominous.

Shepard turned back to them, "Eyes open. There's probably more of them in there."

Nodding, Tali followed behind Shepard, ignoring the other two for a moment as they entered the actual mine, descending down a light slope and rounding a corner, before encountering their first enemies.

Laying down were four husks and two abominations, who all seemed to spring to life the moment the living beings entered their room. Without an order, they opened fire upon the husks, cutting them down quickly, as well as the abomination, which was glowing.

The burning red husk hit the ground near one of the walls, exploding after only a moment, causing a few small rocks and some patches of dust to rain from the ceiling. Shepard held up a hand to signal everyone freeze. Tali suddenly recalled the mining drill incident on Therum, unable to stop herself from silently comparing the two scenarios.

Once it stopped, Shepard spoke again, "The mine's not in good shape. I want everyone to focus on any other abominations first. A few more explosions could cause a cave-in."

"Are these the miners?" Tali asked.

"I don't know, but it certainly looks that way." Shepard responded. "Alright, let's continue."

As they continued further, Tali could almost sense Jordan's unease beside her, though she couldn't care less. There weren't any other enemies, so what was there to worry about? What she didn't know, was that was exactly what was bothering Jordan. After all, there haven't been any husks falling from the ceiling, yet, which was odd.

Up a ramp and around a corner before descending deeper, they continued onward into the mine. Up ahead appeared to be some sort of mess hall or gathering place, with an obvious medical station against a concrete wall. That's when the husks appeared again, out of nowhere.

Their moans echoed across the vast mineshaft, sending chills down their spines as they fell from the ceiling, immediately running towards them. The closest one to Tali soon received a shotgun blast to the head, blowing the former human to bits. Shepard and Jordan opened fire, as Jack threw several of them into the far wall, intercepting them midair with her biotics.

Running forward toward her next victim, Tali summoned her beloved drone. "Go get 'em, Chatika! Good girl!" She called out as her construct sprung to life, zapping several husks.

Looking down the scope of his weapon, Jordan let out a quick burst of fire at one of the abominations, who was not currently burning, and thus didn't explode when he put it down. After a few moments, the yelling and gunfire died down.

"Hostiles down. Advance." Shepard called out, leading them into the next room. Upon entering a few thermal clips were spotted, which caused Shepard to nod toward them, "Fill up if you need them." He began walking around the room, investigating the carnage and taking some spare medigel from the medical stations if needed.

As Jordan reloaded his weapons, Tali called back her drone and Shepard began reading some nearby logs. Watching Jordan carefully, she observed him approach Shepard and say something to him. After a moment, they walked a few feet and finished whatever they were doing.

Her curiosity peaked about the logs, though, she approached the console and took a look at them. Her eyes skimming the information as fast as it was translated.

_**Alien Machine Discovered** _

_Smithson's men dug out some king of alien machine today. Like nothing I ever saw. Called up some of my contacts and found there's a market for this kind of thing. Looks like some squints over at Elanus Risk Control are willing to part with a ton of credits to get their hands on one of these things. Far be it from me to deny them a chance to pay me. Even decided to send a team out to verify the worth. Fine by me as long as they don't get in our way. Who knows how much else is down here._

_**A Strange Glow** _

_Cooper and Joregenzen say they saw that damned alien thing glowing and hell if I'm going near it to prove them wrong. I don't get paid enough to expose myself to weird alien artifacts. I have to admit, though… that's and awful pretty sound coming from that back room. That team from Elanus Risk Control finally arrived a few days ago, too. Said it's worth millions to them, but I don't know how much I trust those asari reps of theirs. Something's off about them._

_**Something's Different** _

_Cooper, Jorgenzen, and them ain't doing so well. That team from Elanus… they'd grown quiet too. Gotta admit, not feeling so good myself, either. Stay near the machine, feel better. Not sure I want them Elanus folk take it. Seems they agree. Think it should stay right here with us._

Tali didn't like the sound of that. These people… it sounds like they were indoctrinated… by some sort of Reaper artifact they'd dug up and turned on. She turned to see that Shepard and him both seemed that they'd reached a similar conclusion.

Shepard spoke up, "Alright, the mission's changed. These people are likely all gone. We're going to find that artifact, and render it inert. There's likely people on their way now for the artifact. We can't let it get out."

"Loud and clear, Commander." Jordan said.

"Let's blow this shit up." "Ready when you are." Tali responded.

Shepard, smiling lightly, turned and began leading the team deeper into the mine. That's when a horrific sound echoed out across the mineshaft, sending chills of terror and dread down everyone's spines. Especially one individual's spine among them…

* * *

**Minos Wasteland, Fortis System, orbiting Aequitas, Normandy SR-2.**   
**March 26th, 2185. 1:24 pm. EST**

Everyone within the Comm room was watching the mission unfold before them from the perspectives of both Jordan and Shepard, thanks to the helmet cameras they both had. Tali didn't trust Cerberus enough to give them that type of access to her suit, and Jack simply wasn't wearing enough for them to put a camera anywhere.

Despite the change in mission parameters and circumstances, those excluded from the mission continued to make bets and watch the mission occur together in the Comm room.

Or, at least, most of them were. Brian Miller, however, was searching the entire room for his lost credit chit. He'd only let it out of his sight for a split second, before it vanished from view entirely. Either it'd be lost (unlikely), or it'd been taken by someone else in the room. He'd asked a few people about it, but they'd either brushed him off or ignored him entirely.

After a while, he soon figured the truth out. It was probably Kasumi, who was hiding somewhere in the room, invisible from view and indefinitely pleased at Brian's sorry state. At least, that's what he thought, if the occasional giggle from the petite thief was anything to go by. He wasn't getting anywhere, he thought, if he was being honest with himself.

On the screens, he heard Shepard say something, to which everyone on the ground responded in the affirmative. He couldn't care less, though. 'The mission was going by pretty normally so far.', he thought. Besides, what could possibly be different about a mission like this? Less husks? More of them? Maybe even a Marauder? Whoop-dee-freaking-do.

He finally gave up, sighing in defeat when he froze, the color draining from his face as a particular noise played out over the speakers. It was a scream.

 _"AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAhhhhhhHHHHhhHHHHHHhhHHHhhhhhhhh..."_ A feminine-like voice screamed out, though easily discernable as both unnatural and almost synthetic in nature.

While everyone else felt shivers down their spine at the unknown scream, Brian began to realize how utterly fucked this whole situation was now. No one seemed to be paying attention to him, except an invisible thief who seemed to see his distress.

Unknowingly, Brian breathed out a single word, whispering it as he silently prayed he was wrong. Only a single other occupant of the room heard his voice. The very same invisible thief who'd stolen his chit and was currently watching his reaction to the situation.

"Banshee…"

* * *

**Minos Wasteland, Fortis System, Aequitas, Abandoned Mine.**   
**March 26th, 2185. 1:26 pm. EST**

After hearing that horrible scream, Tali quickly shook it off, though remained silently troubled by it. Whatever that was, it certainly wasn't quarian… or any other creature she'd encountered or heard of before. Shaking her head, she regripped her shotgun as she continued following Shepard.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jordan, discreetly watching the suspicious man carefully. He seemed incredibly distressed, nervous even, if his body language meant anything. Though, to be fair, she was rather good at reading body language. If the feeling she had in her 'gut', as Shepard occasionally called it, was right, Jordan's response was abnormal and strange. He was hiding something again, no doubt about it. And when it come to light, oh… she'd make him wish he never stepped foot on the Normandy.

Soon enough, they approached a large central chamber which led to what appeared to be another room. From that room came an unnatural blue glow, reminding Tali of her previous encounters with Reaper technology. Shepard soon halted their group, raising a fist as she slowly crouched down.

"I don't like this. An operation like this? There should be dozens, maybe even a hundred people or, now, husks. Where'd they go?" Shepard spoke softly into his mic, communicating silently with his comm.

"Deeper into the mine?" Jordan's voice came out in response over their comms. "It certainly seems to go deeper beyond this area…"

"It's possible, but unlikely." Shepard responded. "Reaper tech is a beacon to these things. Even their logs said they were attracted to it."

"Perhaps they are in hiding?" Tali pointed out, "Waiting for something to happen."

"That's exactly what I was thinking, Tali." Shepard responded, subconsciously making Tali beam at the praise, "Husks aren't smart enough to form plans, but remaining quiet and attacking when other people get nearby? That's simple enough for them. We've seen them do it before."

"So, what's the plan?" Jack asked, impatient.

Shepard shot her a quick look, but didn't respond negatively. He knew they had to act quickly. "They've likely used explosives for part of the mine. When I say go, we're going to charge forward and gather some explosives, bring it to whatever damned artifact they've dug up, and blow it to pieces."

"And if the Reaper thing is too strong to blow up?" Jordan asked.

"Then the explosives will collapse the mine. If the collapse of several tons of rock won't break that thing, it'll at least make it hard or near impossible to find again." Shepard responded, "My sensors are indicating there's explosives in the next room. Definitely enough for us." The Commander revealed, "Tali, I want you to wire them together. Jordan, I want you helping her. Find the best placement of the bombs to accomplish our objective. Jack, you'll be running biotic support. If those husks pop up along the way, I want our two techies to remain unimpeded. Understood?"

"Hell yeah."

"I'm ready."

"Ready when you are."

"Alright… go!"

And they were off. Moving forward together, they were only a few meters from the entrance to the artifact room before they encountered their next group of Husks. At least a dozen flooded out of the next room, while a few dozen dropped down from rafters, support beams, and other areas above them, effectively boxing their targets in the moment they were seen. It wasn't a clean, perfect trap, though, thanks to their lack of IQ.

A shockwave from Jack scattered the group blocking them from the Reaper artifact, allowing the four of them quick access to the room and giving them their first look at the huge monstrosity of a machine. Only slightly intimidated by the scale for a split second, Jordan and Tali immediately got to work, yet did their best to not bother or interact with the other. Tali deployed her drone as additional coverage against the husks, while she gathered several explosives together and wire them to each other.

Jordan focused on the structure analyzing the device as much as he could, while taking readings from the device. This was one of the few, if not only times he or the Geth have found an active Reaper Artifact that rapidly indoctrinated and transformed organics. If the effects and data could be obtained and sent to them, it would make some of their projects that much easier. For instance, this might be the final piece of the puzzle to finally unlocking the Prothean's secrets to Indoctrinated Detection, which their VIs always seemed to have.

Jack and Shepard protected the duo at they worked, firing upon the husks and occasional abominations with a combination of firepower and biotics. So far, not a single abomination had successfully gone off. If one of them blew, it might partially collapse the cave, trapping the four of them inside with an active Reaper artifacts.

As they continued their work uninterrupted, Tali was momentarily distracted by a bump on her shoulder. Turning to look, she saw Jordan there with a neutral gaze turned toward her. He nodded to the side, "Over there, that back leg of the artifact has a hole in its plating. Must've been damaged in the excavation. It's the weakest point of the structure."

Tali glared at the human for interrupting her work, but eventually had to admit that even she was being ridiculous now. He was just doing what Shepard told him to do… Nodding in understanding was the only response she gave to the distasteful teammate, before she returned her attention to the situation at her feet. The bombs.

That's when the scream echoed out across the caves one more time.

She watched Jordan's reaction, only to see him jump slightly in fright, becoming increasingly agitated at the sound. How interesting, why was it getting such a reaction out of the man? Ignoring the sound, herself, she finished setting up the bombs, before rising and moving the device to the specified point of the structure. Lo and behold, there really was damage on the leg in the form of a chip in the armor plating. She could make out some sort of cable system beyond the surface.

Hooking the device up as quickly as possible, Tali nodded at her handiwork. Shortly thereafter, "It's done, Shepard. I can detonate it remotely from the entrance, possibly even in the air from the shuttle." She informed him.

"Perfect, regroup before we push to the exit. Their number just keep growing!"

Together, Jordan and Tali exited the chamber, only to see Shepard and Jack struggling with the overwhelming numbers of husks and abominations, flooding out from other chambers and pathways into the mine. As they fired their weapons, they soon met back up with their other two teammates, aiding them with the husk army.

That's when the scream came a third time, much closer now. In fact, it was so loud and close by, Tali had shivers go down her spine as her suit automatically filtered the sounds and attempted to quiet the noise to a more manageable volume. That's when an unimaginable beast appeared from a side tunnel.

It… whatever the thing was, it looked almost like an asari, if its blue skin, formerly feminine-like body, and odd head-shape was anything to go by. It bent forward slightly, its grotesque jaw hung open as the bloodcurdling scream came from its metallic lips; dull, lifeless grey eyes stared with hatred at the intruders. It was… an asari husk?! Does that mean…?!

All four of them were staring at the terrifying, screaming beast, as it hurled a ball of corrupted, unstable biotic energy at the four of them.

"Scatter!" Shepard called out, rolling forward and to the left as he opened fire on the beast. The other three jumped away as well, allowing the energy to impact the ground where they once stood, tearing it apart. "Open fire on the beast, but take out any abominations first. We need to leave!"

Jordan fired off an overload, Tali redeployed Chatika, and Jack sent another shockwave at the beast, only causing it to stumble slightly. That's when the thing vanished, before reappearing in a biotic haze several feet closer to them.

"It can fucking teleport?!" Jack yelled out as the thing focused on her after the shockwave hit it. It began shambling forward toward her, hurling another biotic orb at the psychotic biotic. This one hit her, shattering her barriers as it sent the human woman stumbling backwards, before diving into cover. Shepard and Tali fired upon the approaching horde of husks and abominations, which soon gained the creature's interest.

Jordan, also firing at the husks, saw this and seemed to come to some sort of conclusion, if his body language was anything to go by. Tali had a feeling that Jordan knew something about this creature that they didn't, which means… 'That bosh'tet lied during Shepard's briefing, and knew about whatever this thing was!'

Tearing her from her thoughts, she watched Jordan throw a rock at the asari-looking husk, gaining its attention, "Hey ugly!" The thing turned to look at him, before teleporting at him. Anticipating this, Jordan attempted to roll out of the way. That's when the unthinkable happened.

It all happened suddenly. So suddenly, that Tali wasn't sure what the exact order of events was.

The former asari reached out and caught Jordan's leg, grabbing it quickly as its sharp claws sunk through his armor and shields immediately, piercing his leg. Jordan screamed out in intense pain.

Shepard yelled out as he shoved Tali, a burst of red flames and energy exploded nearby, sending her and Shepard in separate directions. A piece of debris pierced Tali's suit, hitting her right arm and sinking into her skin before embedding itself.

The cave shook as the mine began to collapse in several places, likely in part to the explosion.

Jack fired several rounds from her weapon, glowing blue as warp ammunition, at the asari lookalike. Combined with a pull, it set off a minor biotic detonation. Jordan flew from the husk's grasp as it actually stumbled back several feet with a broken barrier. Jordan then proceeded to impact head-first into a wall, crumpling into a heap.

Rocks rained from the ceiling, crushing the asari husk now that it had no barriers or opportunity to teleport. The rocks falling, combined with a collapsing ceiling, caused the mineshaft to collapse at various different points.

That's when a rock hit the back of Tali's helmet, causing her now-airborne body to be rendered unconscious. The young quarian woman sunk into darkness as she was unknowingly cut off from everyone else.

* * *

**Minos Wasteland, Fortis System, Aequitas, Abandoned Mine, Unknown location.**   
**March 26th, 2185. 3:22 pm. EST**

Tali awoke with a headache, and a terrible pain in her right arm as she slowly sat up.

It took a moment for everything to come flooding back to her, as she did her best to remain calm and look around her. She could see the path they'd taken to get to where she was. Unfortunately, she could also see that the path was now blocked by a couple tons to rock. She continued to look around, before wincing at the movement of her arm.

Stopped herself for a moment, she looked at her suit's internal clock, eye bulging beneath her mask at the current time. She'd been asleep for more than two hours?!

The next thing she examined was the current state of her suit. The puncture in her right arm had been self-patched thanks to the advanced nano-patching technology she'd gotten thanks to Shepard. Unfortunately, whatever it was that punctured her suit was not only still inside, but it was still lodged in her arm. To make matters worse, her medi-gel dispenser was cracked in the explosion. It normally wouldn't be too terrible during a mission, since it was simply cracked, not busted open. The thing is, if it is cracked and remains so for over an hour, it gives the medi-gel ample time to leak out and become useless.

So now, she was injured, had a foreign substance lodged in her arm, and had no medi-gel to attempt to quell any sort of infection that has already likely gotten far into her system. This was not good.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a purple and green object. Turning her head slowly, so as not to cause any jostling and pain for her arm, she could now see it was Jordan Sower, unmoving on his stomach. She frowned beneath her mask. If her memory was accurate, as jumbled as it was, he'd taken not only several wounds to his leg, but a harsh hit to the head. Using her mask's zoom feature, she could make out what appeared to be a crack in his helmet.

She felt her stomach drop at the thought of the man being dead. They might not have seen eye-to-eye… hell, she hated everything the man stood for, but he was a teammate, and one of the only friendlies in this cave. If he was dead… she didn't want to finish that thought.

Speaking of teammates and friendlies, where was Jack and Shepard. According to her malfunctioning hud and peripheral vision, they were nowhere in sight. Were they dead? Did they manage to escape the cave? What about back-up? Was she going to die in here? From an infection, no less…

She stopped her train of thought and took a deep breath, whispering aloud to herself, "Calm down, Tali… take a deep breath… good… what would Shepard do?" She asked herself, "He'd probably try to see if that bosh't- if Jordan was alive…" She corrected herself.

She tried to stand, only for her arm to shift and send crippling pain up her spine, freezing her on the floor. She did, however, shift her position slightly, as she now leaned against her shotgun, which remained miraculously undamaged.

Tali sighed and activated her omni-tool, which seemed intact as well. The remote detonation of the bomb was still active, which meant that both the bomb and the relic were still intact. She also noted that her connection to the Normandy was cut off, which made everything worse. Was her short-range comm working, still?

"Shepard? Commander Shepard, can you hear me?" She asked over the comm, "Jack? Can anyone hear me?" She got nothing in response. Maybe it was like the vids? Where they could hear her but she couldn't hear them? "This is Tali'Zorah, I'm injured, likely have an infection. I can see Sower. Sower is down, I repeat, Sower is down." She waited a moment, and received nothing in response. "We're trapped in the mine, and the bomb is still active. I repeat, the bomb and the Reaper artifact are still down here."

She sighed and took a moment to collect herself. Now what?

Turning on her external speakers, she called out to Jordan Sower in the hope that he was still alive and might wake up. As much as she disliked the man, he might be her only hope right now. That is, if he's still alive.

"Jordan." She tried, "Jordan Sower." What exactly was she supposed to say? Are you still alive? Are you ok? That didn't exactly sound right. "Are you still alive, you geth-loving bosh'tet?!" She finally called out, internally cringing at her word choice.

'Smooth, Zorah. Father would be so proud… Well, actually, considering who I'm talking to, he probably would be proud…'

As luck would have it, the strange man began moving, groaning aloud in response to her question. So he wasn't dead… or maybe he was, and was just a husk, now… After all, how long did it take the miners here to transform? Plus, how much machine was in the Avatar already, making the process that much easier?

Carefully, Tali reached over and grabbed her shotgun in her left hand, holding it aimed toward Jordan. Sure, it may blow her shoulder out of its socket when fired one-handed, but it would still save her life from a husk if need be. She was ready, the moment Jordan showed his face wasn't human or he moaned out like a husk, she'd blow his unprotected head clean off his shoulders.

Slowly but surely, the possible husk lifted himself up, groaning in pain as he turned over, falling back down onto the ground, now facing Tali. After a moment, a hand reached up and pushed the broken helmet off his head, revealing a bloody and bruised face, glowing an unnatural green and riddled with scars. It wasn't pretty, but it also wasn't the face of a husk. Tali let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed slightly.

Jordan was alive and not a husk.

Said person's eyes opened and focused on Tali's making her feel slightly uncomfortable despite the fact that she knew he could only see her glowing eyes beneath the tinted facemask. He didn't speak a word, rather, he just stared at her. Honestly, it kinda creeped her out.

"Jordan?" She asked slowly.

"Huh… what?" He asked her, his brows furrowing in confusion. "What happened?" He asked, looking around, "Where are we?"

She shook her head, wincing and stopping immediately from the pain in her arm, which shifted slightly from the movement, "We're still in the mine. I think there was some sort of cave-in when one of those abominations exploded."

Jordan furrowed his brow deeper, seemingly deep in thought about what she'd just said, before shrugging as if it weren't a big deal, "Alright, cool."

"Alright, cool?!" She asked, her voice rising in frustration, "You stupid bosh'tet, don't you get it? We're both trapped under a ton of rocks, with no idea if Shepard's alive or if we'll be rescued! And all you can say is 'cool'? It is certainly NOT cool. If anything, it's hot and terrible!" She yelled at him.

He just stared neutrally at her, taking the verbal abuse as if it were nothing, before laying back down and rolling himself over toward her, confusing and angering her even further. He stopped a few feet from her, looking up into her eyes, "So, we're in a mine?" He asked, looking around, "Makes sense, I guess… it is pretty warm in here…"

Tali groaned, "And you're being a complete idiot. Bosh'tet…" She muttered out at the end.

Jordan tilted his head, "Bosh'tet? What exactly does that mean?" He asked, "The lore never specified its exact translation."

She narrowed her eyes, "It means nothing!" She yelled out at him, "All you need to know is that you are one, and it's not a good thing! Now, what are we gonna do?"

Jordan seemed to ponder this for a moment, before shrugging AGAIN. "Meh, I dunno. If this is what I think it is, it wasn't supposed to cave in. It doesn't do that till the bombs go off in the games. Weird…"

"Will you shut up?!" She yelled at him, "You think this is just some kind of game? We're going to die in here unless we're rescued or do something!" She continued berating him, before the room began spinning around her, causing her to groan and fall entirely against some nearby rocks, leaning against the with all her weight. "And now, I'm suffering from a terrrible infection, my antibiotics are ruined, and any medi-gel I might have had to stave of the infection or slow it down has leaked onto the stupid ground." She continued ranting as the room slowly stopped its movement.

Jordan seemed to analyze her for a moment, before attempting to stand, only to quickly collapse thanks to the injury to his leg. He gritted his teeth and crawled toward her, leaning against the rocks to her right, and began fiddling with his suit, "Help me find the medi-whatever on my suit." He said.

"What?" She asked, confused.

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, my suit looks kinda like yours. I should have some. I'm pretty sure I haven't used any."

"What are you talking about? I thought you designed the suit?!" She asked, thoroughly confused.

"I did? I mean… did I?" He asked, "Gosh, it's kinda hard to remember… And my head is killing me…"

She tilted her head slightly, remembering something that Shepard had mentioned before, back on the SR-1. Something happened on one of the missions, and Kaiden had landed on his head. Hard. Shepard said something about a concussion, and how it might cause him confusion and memory loss. Did Jordan have one of those?

"Jordan, I think you have a concussion…"

"A concuss… concush… concussion? Yeah, that kinda makes sense, I guess." He replied, "Now help me find the medi-gelatin."

She shook her head lightly, careful to not move her entire body in the movement like she's used to. Stupid extra reliance on body language… "Shepard said that concussions can be dangerous if they aren't treated." She said, trying to remember exactly what he said, "You probably need it more than I do…" She said after a moment. Deep down, she wanted to be selfish and take it from the confused man. He stood against what her people stood for. He was her enemy, even if they were temporary allies.

But she couldn't, as much as a part of her wanted to.

Her enemy looked at her, confused, "But, you have an inflection… infection, sorry…" He apologized at his misspeak, "That's worse than a headache, no matter how annoying. Aha!" He said, finally clicking something on his suit and causing a capsule of white liquid to pop out of his suit, with a red plus painted onto it. "Is this it, the medical stuff?"

It certainly was, and it was completely intact. Taking a quick glance at the Avatar's suit revealed a damaged medi-gel dispenser, yet the capsule was intact. She quietly realized that he likely injured it in the impact with the wall, meaning this was his one and only capsule… and he hadn't taken any medi-gel, himself. "Yeah, that's it, but…" She didn't get to finish her thought before he interrupted her, putting the capsule into her hands.

He smiled gently at her, grabbing her three fingers in her left hand, and closing it, "Take it." he said after a moment, releasing his grasp as he fell away from her so that she couldn't return it. She froze in shock, however, at the contact. He just touched her… She wanted to be mad, and she was, but she was also shocked. He was giving her the medication she needed?!

"No, no, no, no, no!" She said, shaking her head quickly, "I can't take this, you need it!" She said in a rush, "Shepard said you could fall asleep and not wake up with a concussion. A coma."

Jordan shrugged, leaning against another pile of rocks, "It's fine. I'm not important anyway…" He finally said.

Tali bit her tongue at her automatic response toward the man, almost wanting to agree with him. But then, she remembered two things. One, he was important to the Geth. And, if he was found dead in a cave with her as the lone survivor, when she could have saved him, the Geth would blame her. Second of all, he wasn't exactly in the best state of mind at the moment, he was talking occasional nonsense, and was obviously not in great shape. She couldn't just dismiss him like that.

"You're important…" She admitted quietly, whispering it so that he could not hear her.

"What?" He asked, "I couldn't hear you…"

"I said you're important." She said, a little louder this time. She made herself say if a bit louder now, "You're important. I'm just an admiral's daughter. You're the freakin' savior of the Geth, right?" She asked rhetorically, "You need the medi-gel more than me. I'm just a single quarian…"

Jordan had the audacity to laugh, cutting her off from anything else she was going to say that might have devalued her even further. "Are you kidding me?" He asked, shaking his head in amusement. "You're Tali'Zorah vas Normandy!" He said, causing her to flinch at the name. Not that it sounded bad, but the fact that it both wasn't her name and even if it was, it would mean things weren't good for her. He didn't notice, however, and continued, "You are THE most important quarian in the entire galaxy. Without you, the peace between quarians and geth is impossible. You're important for the future of the galaxy! A main character!" He said with a huge smile on his face in a grandiose fashion. After a moment, his smile fell and his head sunk, "I'm just a loser with no future. Doomed to die, never to see my family again…" He admitted in a depressed voice.

She'd never heard Jordan speak in that tone, which honestly tore her heart a bit. He seemed so sure of what he just said, even in his current state of mind. "What are you talking about?" She couldn't help but ask, her curiosity peaked. What could make Jordan think something like that.

Jordan shrugged again, sighing, "I always wanted to be famous… to be well known… to be responsible for something great…" He admitted, "And now, I'm a terrorist. I'm a threat. I'm a nobody who shouldn't exist." He took a deep breath, looking up and into Tali's curious gaze, "I'm stuck in a fucking video game, where permadeath is enabled, the difficulty is ramped up to eleven, and all the endings are spoiled; and spoiler alert, and the fucking endings end in tragedy and death." Jordan said in absolute seriousness, confusing Tali even further. Was this some sort of metaphor, like those that humans are well known for?

"And, to top it all off, look at me!" He yelled out in frustration, gesturing to his face, "I'm a monster, made of more metal than flesh. Am I even fucking human anymore? How much of me is me? What am I? Who am I?" He asked in increasing volume, before stopping himself and taking a deep, shuddering breath, clearly upset. After a moment, he returned to maintaining eye contact with Tali, "I'm not important, Tali… I've done my part. Brian can do the rest without me… hell, it'd probably be better if I was gone anyway…"

"Shut up!" She yelled back at him, causing the man to freeze, "You stupid bosh'tet, I don't think you understand how important you are. Do you honestly think anything would be better if you were gone?!" Tali asked.

Shrugging once more, to no one's surprise, Jordan dropped eye contact, looking down as he responded, "Sorry…" He let out as a whisper. "it's just… take it, please. A minor headache isn't as important as an infection, especially when you're a quarian…"

"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?" She asked, an invisible eyebrow raised are her voice began to lower dangerously.

Jordan chuckled, shaking his head, "No, not like that. I mean, you're a quarian. An infection is almost certain death for you with your immune system…"

She maintained her harsh gaze for a moment before softening it, nodding in agreement. "Still… I can't just take it from you. You need this medi-gel, too…" Jordan's eyes narrowed, "I promise you, I'll throw the medi-gel into the wall if you hand it back." He told her, "Use it, Tali. You need it."

Tali wanted to keep arguing, but knew he wasn't going to budge on this issue. Honestly, this was one of those things Shepard had said once, about an immovable object and an unstoppable force… Maybe? After a moment, she relented and sighed, plugging the medi-gel capsule into her suit before forcing a manual override, injecting the life-saving serum into her body despite the damage to the dispersion system.

It was only seconds before she felt her muscles relaxing, the pain in her body lowering quickly as she took the first deep, relief-filled breath since waking up. She knew the infection was still there, but her head felt a bit clearer, and could feel the timer extend before she reached the point of no return with her infection. This small capsule just bought her a few more hours, for whatever it was worth. They still needed to be rescued, after all.

Her eyes fluttered back open beneath her mask as she turned to look at Jordan, who was smiling at her. She didn't get to ask what his smile was about before he spoke.

"See? Told you that you needed it." Jordan said with that stupid smile. "Now it's just a waiting game, eh?"

Tali sighed, "I guess…"

They fell into a companionable silence for a few moments, before Tali saw Jordan beginning to tip forward slightly, his eyes fluttering as they fought to remain open. Didn't Shepard and Dr. Chakwas say sleeping with a concussion was bad. Coma, right?

Despite his moment of kindness and his lack of hostility, she could still tell he wasn't fully at ease with her. And vice-versa, she wasn't really a big fan of him. However, if he was willing to make peace and give up his only medi-gel, then she should at least be willing to return the favor and try to keep him awake.

Tali fought for the words to say, trying to figure out how best to engage this odd man. She didn't really want to argue about the Geth or AI with him. It'd only lead to at least one of them getting mad, and she might do something she might regret later in that case. She decided to focus on something he said earlier. He might still be out of it and speaking nonsense, but maybe she'd learn something… maybe even some dirt on him…

"Hey, Jordan." She said, making his eyes shoot back open as he looked up at her.

"Huh? What?" he asked, shaking his head as he tried to focus. "S-sorry, I'm just kinda exhausted…"

"So, Jordan…" She began, trailing off as she tried to word this correctly, "You were saying something about a game?" She asked, flinching internally at the more direct approach.

However, she must have said something right, because his face immediately lit up, as if he had a ton to say about that subject. "O-oh, the game! Yeah, that's right, I was talking abut a game. Do you like video games, Tali?"

Tali thought about the random question for a moment before shrugged, "I never really had any time to play any video games. You don't exactly get them out at the flotilla. And with everything else, there was never any free time for such things."

Jordan frowned, "What a shame. But yeah, my favorite game series has to be Mass Effect." He said with a huge grin.

Tali furrowed her brows beneath her mask. Mass Effect? Like the term used for the abilities of element zero and biotics? She'd never heard of such a game, but then again, she'd only really heard of a few of the biggest names.

"What's Mass Effect?" She finally asked.

"Oh, it's this great series of games, with three main games and this sort-of spinoff called Andromeda." He said, "But the best are the main three. You play as Commander Shepard, fighting the Reapers and saving the galaxy!"

Tali sighed, shaking her head lightly. More nonsense, it seems. She knew there wasn't anything like that. Guess she really wasn't going to get anything productive out of this conversation. But hey, at least Jordan was still wide awake. She decided to continue humoring him.

"A game series about Shepard? Am I in it?" She asked.

Jordan nodded immediately and vigorously, "Yes, yes, you're a main character. The great Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, a young quarian on a pilgrimage, who ends up saving the Galaxy with Shepard from Sovereign." He told her, "Then in the second game, you'd finished your pilgrimage and worked with other quarians for the Migrant fleet, before meeting up with Shepard on Haestrom. Then, after the suicide mission, you return to the Migrant fleet for the first part of the final game, with the other admirals launching a war on the Geth." He explained happily, "You're pretty important Tali."

She shook her head, "I can't be that important, really." She said, not really expecting this kind of praise, "What next, I'm an admiral?"

Jordan nodded again, "Yeah, after your father died while experimenting on the Geth, you step up and become an admiral in his place." He said nonchalantly, causing Tali to freeze in place. All her joking and humoring ceased at once as Jordan's words, which she thought meant nothing moments ago, suddenly made a small tremor of terror rush down her spine. Her father experimenting on the Geth… but… she was warned about him doing that by the Shadow Broker, aka Liara. Did he know about that? She knew her father was in danger doing what he was doing, and was assured that Shadow Broker agents were watching him, but still…

"What…?" She finally breathed out, praying that he'd just start laughing at her expression, making fun of her for even spending a moment considering his words. He looked like he truly meant that as well.

Frowning and lowering his head, he sighed, "Yeah, he was experimenting on Geth, reactivating them to find better ways to kill and defeat them. He ignores safety and activates too many, leading the Geth to break free and kill everyone aboard the Alari. Then, you get accused of treason for sending him the technology, and Shepard takes you there to stand trial. Of course, then you have to storm the Alari and figure out the truth. After that, he has three choices to finish your loyalty. He could present evidence that your father did everything independent of you, he'd be post-humorously exiled and all record of him would be stricken from the Migrant Fleet, which would lose your loyalty. Or, he could say no evidence was found, you'd be convicted for treason but become loyal to Shepard. Finally, he could insight the crowd with enough charisma and show the truth behind the trial: That it's all a farce designed to figure out the future of the quarians and their war with the Geth. In this option, you'd be loyal AND your father's name remains with the fleet." Jordan explained, taking a deep breath after speaking for so long.

Tali remained frozen, not liking what she was hearing at all. She wanted to write off everything he'd just said as complete and utter nonsense, but he'd stated several things that prevented this. He correctly named the Alari, described the warning about her father and the Geth perfectly, and honestly, with the way the politics was about the Geth among the admirals was concerned, she could easily see them taking such a tragedy and spinning it in such a way.

Seemingly ignorant of her current state, Jordan continued, "Anyway, you only become an admiral if you're not exiled, but who wants to see Tali'Zorah vas Normandy exiled?" He said with a shrug, "But yeah, I could go on and on about Mass Effect. It's probably one of the coolest game series ever. Hell, I'm living through it right now! Even with how fucked so many things are, it's still pretty freaking awesome. Plus, if the Catalyst wasn't lying, then I get to go home after all of this…" He said with a huge smile, "I just really wanna go home…" He finally admitted quietly, his joy quickly evaporating as his eyes began to droop once more.

Tali wasn't sure what to say at this point. She'd never really had to maintain a conversation quite like this before, but she noticed his current state. She needed to keep him engaged.

"Tell me about your home." She said, "Before you met the Geth. On your homeworld."

"It wasn't much, but it was home, ya know…" He said, "Was just a nobody, before all this happened. I almost wish none of this ever happened, but now? Now I got all of these new friends and family. I don't just want to leave them behind when I go home…" He told her, "I don't want to lose everything I've gained…"

"You can still call them over the extranet. I'm sure the Geth would visit Earth if they were allowed to. Tela seems fairly fond of you, she'd visit." She tried, though she almost had to force out any sort of positive wording with the Geth. It wasn't too terribly hard to speak to the man, even if she was having an internal war with herself about all of this. One part of her wanted to disregard Jordan completely, while the other side wanted to try to better understand him...

Jordan, however, shook his head, "They won't be able to when I go back. I'm from another freaking dimen-…"

Jordan was cut off by the slightly muffled sound of a scream in the far recesses of the mine. It was nearly identical to the screams of the previous asari husk they'd encountered. Tali and Jordan both froze at the sound, the latter now seemingly fully awake now. Turning to Jordan, she watched fear fill his eyes despite his claims that he didn't remember the fight against the previous one. When the scream died down, Tali spoke softly.

"There's two of them?" She asked.

Jordan, who didn't seem to hear her, let out a soft horror-filled whisper of his own, "Banshee…"

Tali's head spun quickly toward Jordan as her eyes narrowed, any sense of friendliness gone from her demeanor as she heard him utter that single word… the name of the unnamed beast. He knew about this creature?! During the debriefing, he'd said he'd told them about everything he knew… He lied?!

"Banshee…" She said slowly as her voice became more menacing, "You know what those things are?!" She asked, finishing in an uproar, enraged.

Jordan turned to her and, for the first time since they awoke, seemed to have realized he'd said something he probably shouldn't have said. "I… Well, I don't…" He began, flinching as she cut him off in rage.

"You… you fucking bosh'tet…" She began, catching Jordan completely off-guard with her curse. He'd never heard her say anything worse than bosh'tet or damn. The Avatar of Synthesis simply sat down in shock as she continued, "You lied to us! To Shepard! You knew about those things?! They nearly killed us a few hours ago!" She ranted, pointing a finger at him as she stood up, no longer feeling the pain in her arm thanks to the fast-acting medi-gel.

Jordan tried to scramble back in shock, but winced in pain at the sudden movement of his still-damaged leg.

"What do you have to say for yourself!?" She demanded.

"I… It's not what you think!" He said, some form of clarity seemingly returning.

"Not what I think?" She asked incredulously, "It seems pretty clear to me, what's going on! You're a traitor-"

She was cut off by Jordan yelling back, "I'm doing the best I can, ok?!" He took a deep breath and visibly deflated, "You don't think I know that I've been hiding things? I can't just tell you guys everything… you wouldn't understand…"

"Oh, I understand alright." She shot back with zero sympathy, "You're a selfish bosh'tet, who cares for nothing more than himself and the Geth. You would turn to the Reapers if they gave you a better offer!"

"I would not!" He yelled back, raising his volume. "I'm trying to stop the Reapers!"

Their argument was momentarily interrupted by another blood-curdling scream in the distance of the mine, this time sounding a bit closer to their position. This second banshee… it was getting closer.

Seemingly ignoring the unnatural scream, Tali responded to Jordan eagerly, "And how can any of us possibly trust you?" She asked, gesturing to his entire body, "You're more than half machine!"

"And what about Shepard?!" He shot back, enraged.

"That's not the same!"

"Isn't it?! He died for two years, and was put back together with the best of technology. How much of him is 'natural', now? Huh?!"

"It's not the same!" She maintained, "Commander Shepard did not choose to have that happen to him! And he certainly hasn't gone insane!"

"Look at his scars! And you think I wanted this?! These scars and changes? I never wanted any of this!"

"And how can I believe that when you just admitted to lying?"

"I'm not lying! Yes, I haven't shared everything, but no one on board the Normandy has! Where's your criticism of Brian? Or Miranda? Even your issues with Cerberus pale in comparison to me!"

"That's because-"

"No, I'll tell you why! You hate the Geth, you hate AI, and most importantly: You. Hate. Me!"

The cavern sunk into silence as they both stared at one another, neither daring to speak and break the uncomfortable silence. Jordan's harsh glare was met by Tali's own glare in response. A few moments later, Jordan spoke again.

"What could I possibly do to change your opinion on me? We're stuck alone together in this caved-in mine, you've got an infection, I've probably got a concussion and a fantastic injury to my leg, and I gave you the last of the pedi-gel because you need it more than I do." Jordan listed off. Shaking his head, he leaned back against some rocks as Tali remained standing, ignoring his slight mispeak. "What do you want from me, Zorah?"

The man before her fell silent after asking that question, catching her slightly off-guard. She took a moment to ponder his words. She wanted to start by telling him that she didn't hate him, just what he stood for… but that'd be a lie. She knew, deep down, she hated the man AND what he stood for. As for what she wanted from him, she had no idea.

"Well?" Jordan Sower asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Finally, she let out a soft whisper, "I don't know…" She finally said.

"I don't want to be your enemy, Tali." He told her honestly, "I want peace, both between us and the people we represent." She wanted to interrupt, be he saw it coming and continued, "And yes, they are people! …Tali, please… can't we just be civil? At least try to get along?" He asked her.

She shook her head after just a moment, "I don't…"

"Please." He said simply, "We're stuck in this cave, and if we get out of here, we'll be stuck with each other for the rest of the mission. This is a unique opportunity for us… can't we at least try?" He asked.

She sighed, slowly sitting down in front of the man. She knew why she hated what he stood for and the Geth, but why exactly did that hate translate over the man, himself. Could she simply not differentiate the two things? Perhaps she simply, deep down, wanted to hate the man. It'd be simpler that way.

"I… perhaps I could try."

"That's all I ask, Tali…" He replied, smiling lightly.

She ended up souring the mood after only a moment, "Despite this, I'm still talking with Shepard about this. Everything you've said, and how you lied about this."

To her surprise, Jordan simply shrugged, "Sure, whatever." Tali sighed, watching Jordan carefully. Even if he seemed more clear-headed, it seemed he was still kinda out of it. That concussion wasn't going away by itself… They sunk back into relative silence, until…

_"AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAhhhhhhHHHHhhHHHHHHhhHHHhhhhhhhh..."_

That scream was much closer now, having seemingly locked onto their position. Likely due to their earlier arguments and yelling, the Banshee was approaching from one of the side tunnels. Tali's and Jordan's eyes widened in fear as they realized what was happening. Remembering what happened earlier, Tali had great doubt that they'd be able to take one of those things down. After all, the only reason the other one died was a combination of the efforts of four people AND the roof collapsing on top of it.

Tali reached down to grab her shotgun, only for Jordan to grab it first. Furious, she turned to Jordan, ready to take her weapon back AND teach him a lesson, only for him to return her glare and speak.

"Listen, Tali. That pedi-gel might have helped with the infection and pain, but I know the truth. If you fire your shotgun once, you'll fully break your arm. We don't have any more medi-gel, so it would be suicide." He reached over to his hip and grabbed his pistol, holding it by the barrel as he held it out to her. "Use this. It can be fired one handed. Yeah, it might sprain your wrist a bit, but that's better than a broken arm."

Tali's glare faded, knowing that both Jordan was right and that the enemy was likely only minutes away. She didn't like it, but there wasn't much of a choice, here. Finally, she reached out and grasped the man's hand cannon, holding it firmly in her left hand. She stood back up and tried to find some cover for the imminent arrival of the 'Banshee', as Jordan called it.

Jordan, himself, crawled and attempted to limp over to another set of rocks, which had collapsed from the cave-in and created a form of cover. With different locations, they hoped to surprise the Banshee when it arrived. Or, possibly, hide from it. Tali frowned beneath her mask at Jordan's pitiful movements. If he were any more injured, he wouldn't be able to move at all, really. Yet, here he was, still ready to fight.

She watched him collapse her shotgun partially, putting the now smaller weapon on his hip as he grabbed his still intact rifle for use against the Reaper beast. Now, ready for it, it was simply a waiting game.

Neither dared to speak as they awaited the Banshee.

Finally…

 _"AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAhhhhhhHHHHhhHHHHHHhhHHHhhhhhhhh…"_ The Banshee cried out, entering the chamber slowly as its screams echoed across their central chamber. The horrid, husk-turned former asari turned its dead eyes across the chamber, looking for living prey. The undead eyes sent shivers up the quarian's and human's spines, causing the two of them to grip their weapons tightly in iron grips.

Neither dared to fire a shot, as the Banshee seemed unaware of their presence. Perhaps it would simply assume their yelling came from elsewhere, or that'd they'd traveled further away, and would leave them alone either way. Unfortunately, that was not the case, as it appeared to have some semblance of intelligence from its previous life as an asari.

Its eyes shot down to where they previously laid, seeing the scuffle marks of previous, recent movement. It tracked the marks with its eyes, stopping and resting upon Jordan's hiding place. That's when it screamed again, focusing its noise in Jordan's direction.

_"AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaAAhhhhhhHHHHhhHHHHHHhhHHHhhhhhhhh…"_

Jordan tensed up at the sound of the Banshee, likely feeling the monster's gaze fix on his location. With its back toward Tali, she peered out of cover to see what the beast was doing, only to barely hold back a gasp at what she was seeing. Jordan was moments away from the Banshee reaching him. With his injured leg, there'd be no way to even attempt to get away from it.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself as she made her choice, she closed her eyes for just a moment. When they opened, she did something stupid.

"Hey, over here!" She shouted at the husk-ified asari, firing several rounds into its back. One, two, three, four, each shot bouncing her arms slightly as she did her best to fire one-handedly.

As predicted, the Banshee stopped in its tracks and turned around to face the new threat, bending over and screeching at her with another scream as its biotic barriers withstood the damage. It then took a menacing step forward as it fired a ball of biotic energy at her.

Diving to the side and back into cover, she landed on her injured arm, sending ripples of pain up her body from the impact. Doing her best to ignore it, Tali reached over and activated her omni-tool, deploying Chatika, which immediately flew out from cover to harass the Banshee.

Taking a moment to breath, Tali forced herself back up and peered over cover, firing the rest of the clip into the Banshee as it focused on her drone, which was soon obliterated. She went to reload, only to discover a lack of thermal clips. She must have dropped them, which she immediately discovered was, indeed, the case.

The monster warped itself, teleporting rapidly in order to approach the lone quarian, before it stumbled slightly, stopping halfway there as electricity arched across its body. The Banshee turned quickly and menacingly, to see Jordan outside of cover now, his arm extended due to the launch of his overload. It didn't do much, but it DID piss it off.

Turning around and teleporting again, Tali watched it get within a few meters of Jordan, who proceeded to unload her shotgun's thermal clip into the husk. Tali managed to scrounge up a single thermal clip, quickly reloading her weapon, only to find the Banshee nearly on top of Jordan. Any shots fired from this distance one-handed may hit Jordan.

Her arm trembled as she tried to figure out what to do. Should she open fire? Should she do something else? She wasn't sure, as many of her abilities with her omni-tool were either useless against this thing, or were busy recharging.

The Banshee got closer as Jordan fired the final shot of the clip into it, switching quickly back to his rifle as he opened fired with that.

"Come and get me, asshole! You know you want me! I'm the Avatar you want!" He yelled at it, only for the creature to grab the Geth Pulse Rifle from his hands, crushing it in its supernatural grip before reaching forward and grabbing Jordan around his torso.

Tali, mind decided now that it was now or never, opened fire on the Banshee, each shot but two hitting her mark. One hit a nearby rock, while another shot Jordan in his good leg, making him cry out in pain. The Banshee, in response, fired another pulse of biotics, sending Tali flying into a nearby wall.

Stunned momentarily by the impact, she was at the Banshee's mercy as it prepared to throw another ball of chaotic dark energy. Seeing this, Jordan extended his omni-blade, arcing with electricity, and shoved it into the Banshee's shoulder-blade, causing it to scream out in pain, rather than as as show of fear. It flinched just enough to shatter the hard light construct, forcing his omni-tool to reboot and momentarily shutdown while her biotic barriers failed, too.

Ignoring the quartan entirely now, it turned back and opened it jaw at Jordan, pulling an arm back as if it were going to extend an omni-blade of its own. Tali, now recovering but with no ammo, watched in horror as it seemed ready to stab Jordan through the torso with its sharp claws and entire forearm.

That's when the unexpected happened for a second time that day.

In a matter of moments, a great blast occurred near the caved-in entrance to their chamber, causing rocks encased in blue energy to sail through the air, opening a huge hole in the wall while sending rocks, debris, and dust into the air, distracting the Banshee momentarily.

Tali looked towards the new hole, only to hear the sounds of a sniper rifle going off and a trail of smoke to appear instantaneously through the dust. Looking back to the Banshee, she watched as its head was blown clean off, causing its torso to drop Jordan, before melting and disintegrating into nothingness.

The hole, itself, was coated in blue biotic energy as someone was likely holding the place together after such an explosion, which should have rightfully caused another cave-in. The dust soon settled and Tali could see what was beyond. Laying down in the back was Garrus Vakarian, who'd indefinitely fired the life-saving shot through the smoke with the aid of his visor.

Also on the other side stood Jack and Samara, overexerting their bionics to hold the place together. Rushing through quickly was Tela Vasir, Commander Shepard, and Grunt. Tali could see the relief on Shepard's face as he took in the sight of the two of them, still alive. He directed Grunt toward Jordan, while forcing Tela to help him with Tali.

Jordan, completely exhausted, didn't even try to resist as the young tank-bred picked him up bridal-style. Tali, who managed to stand back up, had her arms thrown over Vasir's and Shepard's shoulders as they led them back out of the mine. The two biotics stayed close by and silent as they kept the mine together as best as they could, before letting go of the new doorway. Now, the mine began to collapse once more.

Running out of the mine as fast as they could, the seven of them stayed together, moving in one group as they stepped over countless husk bodies, which had likely been killed during their rescue. As the cave began to collapse, Shepard turned to Tali, "Can you still blow the artifact?"

She nodded, "Now?"

"Now. No use in waiting, especially if we lose connection."

Tali nodded again, reaching over as her arms were loosened, allowing her to detonate the bombs on the artifact, causing another large explosion back further in the mine, causing an entire collapse of the caves.

Luckily, the seven of them escaped the mines just in time, as the final doorway collapsed right behind them, but they didn't stop to rest there. Rather, they continued to the shuttle as quickly as they could. Tali couldn't help the relieved laugh she let out as the shuttle door shut behind them and she felt it lift off.

They got out alive… Exhausted, she felt darkness willingly overtake her as she slipped into sleep.

* * *

**Minos Wasteland, Fortis System, Normandy SR-2, Med Bay.**   
**March 26th, 2185. 10:08 pm. EST**

Tali sat down on one of the med bay's beds, allowing Doctor Chakwas to oversee her and check out the extent of her injuries. She was anxious to get back to engineering, but knew that Shepard would not allow her to return to work so quickly after such an experience. That didn't even take into account whatever prognosis the doctor would give her.

Looking to her right, she saw Jordan sleeping soundly on a second bed in the medical bay. Though covered entirely aside from his arms and head by the sheets, she knew there were bandages around his legs where he was injured. What was visible, however, were the bandages wrapped around his head, with an IV with some sort of odd liquid flowing into one of his arms. She was told he'd be out for at least the rest of the day. It made her feel a bit bad, to be honest, despite their relatively rocky relationship. Of course, it didn't help that she felt slightly guilty for both shooting him accidentally and taking the last of the medi-gel from him in the mine.

Shaking her head, she turned her gaze to the entrance, which just slid open and allowed Commander Shepard into the room. He remained respectfully silent as he let the doctor continue working. When she appeared done, he finally spoke up.

"So, what's the news, doc?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Doctor Chakwas.

"Well, Miss Zorah defiantly has an infection, and a rough puncture wound to her right arm." She began, "The wound is beginning to heal, and her infection is not as severe as expected, likely due in part to the application of medi-gel during the crisis." She explained, "Aside from the wound, Miss Zorah simply needs to take antibiotics for the next week. As for the injury to her arm, I'll need to proceed with a minor surgery to remove the foreign material."

Tali shuddered at the thought of surgery. Not only the procedure, but the fact she'd be out of both missions and likely work for a while. Sensing her unease, Shepard spoke on her behalf.

"When's the surgery, and what are her restrictions?"

Karen Chakwas sighed, "Unfortunately, I cannot chance any future complications with the procedure, so it must be soon, preferably tonight. I have the necessary equipment for a quarian surgery, but will need to confiscate an entire room for the procedure, with no one else inside for the duration."

 _"With Mister Sower confined to the med bay, my AI Core remains void of contamination. In addition, sanitation of the AI Core can begin momentarily, and will only take a few minutes."_ EDI spoke over the intercom, not lowering the young quarian's unease in the slightest.

Shepard nodded, turning to Chakwas, "Your decision, doc."

The Doctor, thought about the offer for a moment, before nodding, "I would appreciate that very much. Thank you, EDI."

 _"You are very welcome, Doctor._ " She replied with a hint of fondness in her inflections, creeping Tali out even more, before she tried to write it off as nerves.

"What about engineering?" She tried asking, "I can't just abandon them down there."

Shepard chuckled, "They've been fine while you were in the mine. I don't know if you've noticed, but we still have a space-worthy ship."

Doctor Chakwas nodded, "The Commander is right. And, as long as there are no complications… AND you take your prescribed medication, then you should be able to return to work in the morning." She assured her.

Tali nodded, letting out her held breath as she calmed down. At ease, she nodded, "Then let's get this done as soon as possible."

"Once the decontamination of the AI Core is finished, we'll begin."

"Actually, doc, could I have a moment with your patient?" Shepard asked.

The doctor nodded, "Alright, as long as you do not stress my patient, it will be fine. I'll take a moment to collect some dinner before the procedure." And with that, Chakwas walked out of the medical bay, leaving only Shepard, Tali, and an unconscious Jordan in the room.

"Are you alright, Tali?" Shepard finally asked after a moment.

She nodded, "I'm fine, Shepard. I've gotten worse infections."

Shepard frowned and straightened his posture, "I'm sorry, Tali. If I'd acted more quickly when I saw that abomination, or against that asari husk, none of this would have happened."

"It's fine, Shepard. You can't do everything." She tried to assure him, "The Banshee caught us all off-guard."

"Yes… the 'Banshee'…" He said, frowning as he turned his attention toward the slumbering avatar, "I get the distinct feeling that Jordan wasn't quite as open with us as I hoped he'd been."

Tali slowly nodded, "Yes…" She trailed off, recalling the events of the mine silently. "What do the rest of the crew think?"

Shepard sighed, "I'm not sure. After the explosion and partial cave-in, we lost footage from Jordan's camera, and connection with both of your comms."

Tali chuckled, "Yeah, the impact with the wall kind of shattered his helmet."

"I noticed. Have to get him another one." He said with a shake of his head, "I have not idea what happened down there, Tali. Everything after the cave-in is lost to us. Hell, even the recovered bits of his helmet contain no record of the events. The entirety of its memory banks are shot." He informed her, "What happened down there?"

Tali struggled to find the answer to Shepard's question. There was a lot that happened without him. A lot was said between the two of them. A lot of harsh things were said, and a few, more personal confessions were made. Likewise, there were several things she should probably share with Shepard, despite how she felt about owing Jordan. Finally, she began to speak.

"I woke up first, and found Jordan unconscious. He had a concussion and woke up. He… he gave me his medi-gel for my infection and arm, rather than his own injuries. Then, we… we argued, and yelled at each other. He claimed to not remember the entire mission in the mine, but named the asari monster as a 'Banshee'." She admitted, which Shepard silently filed away for later. "Another Banshee showed up, and we worked together until you arrived."

Shepard nodded, "Anything else you can remember? Anything at all that could be useful?"

Various snippets from the mine echoed in her head.

_'I'm a monster, made of more metal than flesh!'_

_'Then, you get accused of treason for sending him the technology, and Shepard takes you there to stand trial.'_

_'Who wants to see Tali'Zorah vas Normandy exiled?'_

_'I just really wanna go home…'_

_'You don't think I know that I've been hiding things? I can't just tell you guys everything…'_

_'Come and get me, asshole! You know you want me! I'm the Avatar you want!'_

Sighing, Tali shook her head, "I'm not sure. A lot of things were said, and I don't know if any of it was important. He's hiding things, that's for certain, but…"

Shepard nodded, "I understand." He put a hand on her shoulder before smiling lightly, "You know, I was half certain I'd find only one of you alive down there, one having killed the other." He joked, "But now, you seem friendly enough…"

"What faith you have in me, Shepard." She said, shaking her head, "And what do you mean, friendly? I can work with him just fine…" She admitted, "Though I'm not exactly comfortable with him."

"So… what are your thoughts on the Avatar, then?"

Tali sighed, "I still hate everything he stands for. He's an enemy of my people, Shepard!"

"But…?"

She sighed in resignation, "But, even if I may still hate him, I can kind of understand where he's coming from, and I COULD try to give him the benefit of the doubt…"

"So you'll stop arguing with him and trying to kill him?"

"No promises, but I can try to be more civil."

Shepard sighed, "I guess that's the best I can get…" He shook his head, "Well, I'll go inform Chakwas that we're good. Talk to you later, Tali."

"See you later."

Shepard proceeded out of the medical bay, turning to look toward the mess hall, spotting the kind doctor quickly. Making eye contact immediately, he nodded in affirmation that he was done, to which she nodded in response. Smiling, John continued on his journey to the elevator, stepping inside and allowing the doors to close.

"Take me the loft, EDI."

_"Of course, Shepard."_

"And EDI, could you send out a message to all members of the ground team?"

_"Yes. What would you like to tell them?"_

"Tell them we'll be holding a briefing about the mission and the upcoming one tomorrow morning at 1100 hours."

_"Anything else?"_

"Yes, could you add something to the message. Tell them: Gambling on the mission without my consent was unexceptionably unprofessional, and I'll be confiscating fifty percent of all credits used in the wagers. Next time, you may want to ask permission."

 _"Certainly, Shepard, sending the message now."_ She replied immediately, a small amount of humor heard in her voice. Shepard didn't know what kind of upgrades Jordan had done to her programing, but he appreciated how much more lively EDI's been acting recently.

As the elevator continued to climb the shaft, Shepard could have sworn he'd heard several instances groaning and cursing from across the entirety of the ship. Chuckling, knowing full well why he'd heard that, Shepard shook his head.

Despite everything that could have and did go wrong today, it still ended up working out. After all, Jordan and Tali's hostility toward one another seems to have diminished. Even if only slightly.


	40. Chapter 35: Recovery Mode

**Chapter 35: Recovery Mode**

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, Med Bay.**   
**March 27th, 2185. 1:36 pm. EST**

Darkness was the first thing to fill Jordan's senses, before the feeling of soft comfort was sensed beneath him. He felt warm and somewhat safe, wherever he was. A moment later, his eyelids opened, before blinding light nearly scorched his retinas, forcing them to close in a hurry. In response, his body shifted and flinched from the pain brought forth by the bright light, causing pain to ripple up his spine, centering around his legs and skull.

He gasped at the sudden influx of pain, before feeling something cool entering his arm and dulling it almost immediately, resulting in a sigh of relief. Taking a few deep breaths, Jordan attempted to open his eyes once more. The light was once again harsh, but no longer unbearable. He squinted his eyes as light flooded in, allowing himself to become accustomed to the brightness before he observed his surrounds.

His eyes focused initially on the source of the bright light, looking up at the ceiling. Next, they darted to the walls and his surroundings, observing a massive window, a desk with a terminal, a few doors, and a bed or two nearby. Following suit, Jordan looked down at himself, finding his current position to be within another bed, similar to the other one he'd seen. The majority of his body was hiden from view beneath the white blanket, aside from his arms, and his body from the shoulders, up. He looked down at his right arm to find a needle in his skin, feeding him an odd, blue liquid directly into his bloodstream. Following the line, he observed a machine that contained said liquid, along with several instruments monitoring him.

He could make out one of those graphs with rises and falls on a line, like in hospitals, but couldn't place the name. He quickly came to the conclusion that he was located in the Med Bay onboard the Normandy. The medical bay appeared empty, leaving Jordan alone with his thoughts as he attempted to recall what led to his current predicament.

He wasn't tied down or restrained, yet any movement of his legs caused mild discomfort. Deducing the blue liquid to be some futuristic painkiller, Jordan figured his legs were not in great shape. He was injured. That much was clear to him, but how?

He began running his most recent memories though his mind, playing them in absolute clarity thanks to his perfect memory. Guess some good comes out of his synthetic nature…

He remembered waking up. He started with the most recent mission. He recalled a briefing with Shepard and the crew. He remembered being stuck with Jack and Tali, the two least-friendly crewmates on board, for the mission. They'd gone down to an abandoned mine… and there were husks! That's right, it was the abandoned mine mission in ME2 that was filled with worker-turned husks and abominations thanks to the artifact they'd dug up.

He remembered the lack of husks compared to the game, which made him uneasy… and then he remembered hearing the cry of a banshee, which sent shivers down his spine and increased his uneasiness tenfold. The third game mentioned the physcological effect of the banshee screams, but he'd never imagined it'd be so terrifying in person…

He remembered making it to the artifact fairly easily, and that he and Tali were assigned demolition duty. He remembered spotting the weak spot in the artifact, and setting up the explosives. Then… then the Banshee had appeared, and all hell broke loose in the fight against the Reaper troops. Then, he remembered trying to fight the Banshee… and… and… what came next? It was growing fuzzy, which was odd considering how his memory in his semi-artificial brain worked.

He… he remembered… the Banshee caught his leg when he tried to escape. Its claws pierced his leg, causing him terrible pain. An explosion… one of the abominations exploded and made the mine unstable… and… and… and Jack attacked the Banshee holding him, causing him to leave its grasp and go sailing through the air… and then… then…

Pain.

He remembered hitting his head and blacking out. But... what happened next? Jordan racked his brain as the memories appeared missing, sending a wave of fear over his body. Why couldn't he remember? He wasn't supposed to be able to forget, not anymore! He tried again, before his mind was assaulted by images and memories.

_His cracked helmet broke and came off, blood flowed out of a head wound as uncomfortable bruises continue to form._

_"Bosh'tet? What exactly does that mean?" He'd asked, trying to rack his brain for a proper translation presented in the games and/or lore._

_"Gosh, it's kinda hard to remember… And my head is killing me…" He'd commented, unable to recall the details of his apparently custom-made spacesuit._ _"Gosh, it's kinda hard to remember… And my head is killing me…"_

_"I said you're important." Tali had told him, "You're important. I'm just an admiral's daughter. You're the freakin' savior of the Geth, right?" She asked him rhetorically, "You need the medi-gel more than me. I'm just a single quarian…" Jordan couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous notion. If he died, his family wouldn't know. He wouldn't be mourned… at least, beyond the Geth, maybe._

_"I'm stuck in a fucking video game, where permadeath is enabled, the difficulty is ramped up to eleven, and all the endings are spoiled; and spoiler alert, the fucking endings end in tragedy and death." Jordan ranted in total seriousness, ignoring the small nagging feeling within him saying that he should probably shut up._

_"What a shame. But yeah, my favorite game series has to be Mass Effect." Jordan told her, smiling with bliss. She spoke, but it was kinda hard to hear her. He figured she wanted to know more about Mass Effect, and who was he to tell her no? "Oh, it's this great series of games, with three main games and this sort-of spinoff called Andromeda." He'd told her, "But the best are the main three. You play as Commander Shepard, fighting the Reapers and saving the galaxy!"_

_"Yeah, after your father died while experimenting on the Geth, you step up and become an admiral in his place." Jordan told her straight-up, causing her some amount of distress. Or, at least, that might have been the case. He was just trying to be helpful and answer her questions. Where's the harm in that?  
_

_"Was just a nobody, before all this happened. I almost wish none of this ever happened, but now? Now I got all of these new friends and family. I don't just want to leave them behind when I go home…" Jordan told her, "I don't want to lose everything I've gained…" He admitted, seriously contemplating his experiences._

_Another scream echoed out, causing Jordan to freeze mid-thought. He whispered out a single work in horror, disregarding any inhibitions that may or may not exist toward this motion. "Banshee…"_

_Jordan raged at Tali and her argument. "No, I'll tell you why! You hate the Geth, you hate AI, and most importantly: You. Hate. Me!" He finished, causing everything to go quiet._

_"Despite this, I'm still talking with Shepard about this. Everything you've said, and how you lied about this." Tali told him. Jordan just shrugged, not really bothering him. Perhaps it should, but for some reason, it didn't._

_Tali shot him! But there was also the Banshee, so he ignored it. He figured she didn't mean to hit him, so he remained focused on the threat from the third game._

_Grunt picked him up like a new bride, carrying him out of the mine as his head was swimming with pain and confusion. Thinking was hard… so was staying awake… Everything went dark._

Jordan could hear the beeping from the monitor grow louder and more frequent as his heart rate began to increase. He couldn't care less about that though, as his attention remained on the crashing memories assaulting his brain… and the conclusions they were leaving in their wake. A voice spoke up above his head, but he ignored it. It was speaking nonsense anyway. Instead, he focused on the building horror within.

Those memories… those thoughts and images… those weren't his… not entirely.

He could remember them clearly, but like he was a backseat driver, feeling and seeing everything at the front, yet holding no control over the vehicle. He was running on autopilot; it was him, but it wasn't him.

In a panic, Jordan began going over all of his memories, attempting to recall memories before he became the so-called Avatar of Synthesis. His tenth birthday. Getting his driver's license. Having his first alcoholic drink. Playing Mass Effect for the first time. Getting accepted to UCF.

He could remember each event with absolute clarity, each and every detail captured by his perfect memory… but they felt odd; foreign, even. He remembered them… experienced them, yet they felt off, just like his time in the Mine with Tali… Or were they different? They were a lifetime ago. More than a lifetime ago. How long ago? Who was he? Was he really himself? Was he still himself? Was he ever himself? What was him? What was his?

Jordan's heart began to beat faster as he sunk back into the comfort of his medical bed, his thoughts going a million miles an hour as more voices made themselves known. They, too, however, made no sense to him. Why couldn't they speak normally? Why were they bothering him? Why wouldn't they go away? He just needed a moment!

They seemed distressed, if they could possibly be so, as they didn't seem very familiar. They weren't making any sense!

His eyes were unfocused as he began to shake in absolute terror, questioning his very existence. The very act of existing brought about an existential crisis within Jordan, only making his chest vibrate harder with his heart.

Something cool entered his blood, and drowsiness began to overtake Jordan, slowing down his thought process. His mind, rather than calm down like his body was, kicked into overdrive, connecting the dots between this feeling and some of his memories. He didn't want to go to sleep. He didn't want to not be himself. He didn't want to leave.

He fought it, causing the voices to grow louder and more frequent in their speech, despite not making any sense. He began to thrash about, before an unseen force pushed him back into the bed and freezing him in place, making his heartrate climb ever higher. Jordan whimpered at the resistance he felt, speaking aloud as he felt his cheeks grow moist.

"I don't want to leave again…" He whimpered, "Please, don't… I want to be me…" He almost begged the voices, despite knowing in the back of his mind that the voices couldn't possibly understand him. After all, he couldn't understand them, so how could they understand him?

He felt pressure across his body as more freezing liquid was dumped into him, causing his eyes to spontaneously weigh several metric tons, overloading his muscles and causing his eyes to close abruptly. His mind felt suppressed as his trashing was forced to come to an abrupt end.

His final thought before darkness overcame him was that he didn't want to be alone and forgotten.

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, Comm Room.**   
**March 27th, 2185. 1:36 pm. EST**

"…and so our next destination will be Zorya." Shepard finished, "Any questions?" He asked after a moment, looking over the comm room. It was filled with each and every member of the ground team, minus Jordan Sower, who was currently unconscious in the Medical Bay.

"I got one." Jack said, taking the floor, so to speak, "What the fuck about Jordan? I mean, he knew about those asari-husk things!"

Before Shepard could retort, Brian Miller spoke up his stead, "As I already explained, they're called Banshees, and I told Jordan specifically not to worry about them or mention them to you all. I accept whatever punishment necessary." He claimed.

Shepard nodded, remembering Brian talking about those creatures earlier in the briefing, "He has already accepted full responsibility for the lack of communication and forthcoming of information. As for Jordan, he'll be reprimanded as I see fit, Jack."

Jack shook her head and huffed, leaning back against her spot on the wall. Before anyone else could speak, the silence in the room was interrupted by EDI. "Shepard, I was told to inform you once Mr. Sower was awake."

"About bloody time." Zaeed muttered.

There were reactions from throughout the room, mostly relief, with the most seemingly coming from Tela Vasir, who let out a sigh.

John Shepard nodded, "Thank you EDI. I'll head down there in a moment." He returned his attention to the crew gathered, "Alright, the brief is over. Zaeed, Brian, Garrus, be prepared for our arrival in Zorya sometime late tomorrow." And with that, the meeting was adjourned, allowing everyone to go their separate ways.

Leaving the Comm Room, Shepard was accompanied by Tela Vasir as they reached the elevator. Stepping inside together, they began to descend down the elevator shaft as they remained silent, neither willing to break the fragile atmosphere. The door slowly slid open as soon as they reached their destination, allowing the two Spectres to step off of the elevator.

EDI suddenly spoke back up, "Shepard. Jordan's heart rate is climbing excessively and his breathing is becoming erratic. I believe he is having a panic attack."

"What?!" Tela asked, alarmed.

"Doctor Chakwas is dealing with him, and attempting to calm him down, but requests assistance." He continued, her synthetic voice filled with what sounded like concern.

Ditching their previously calm approach, Commander Shepard and Tela Vasir increased their pace and approached the med bay with haste. The door was sliding open in anticipation of their arrival, allowing them in immediately. What they found shocked them, forcing them ever closer to Jordan and Chakwas, who was on her omni-tool by his side, attempting to do something.

Jordan's eyes were unfocused yet filled what seemed to be horror, his mouth slightly agape as he was shaking, his extremities twitching as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Doctor Chawkwas, what's the situation?" Shepard asked as the two Spectres rapidly approached the two already in the room.

"Jordan woke up a matter of moments ago while I was outside gathering some extra supplies." She informed them quickly, continuing to work on her omni-tool, "EDI informed me that he'd awoken, before shortly informing me of his rising vitals. I returned just as his panic attack set in."

She pressed a final holographic button before the liquid flowing from the equipment into Jordan turned a shade lighter and more transparent, as another substance was added. Tela assumed it was meant to calm Jordan down and knock him out, especially when she looked at Jordan's face.

His twitching seems to slow as his eyelids slowly slid shut.

Not a moment later, they shot back open at the speed of light, his heart rate climbing ever higher at an alarming rate. The terror in his eyes doubled as his twitching became full-on thrashing. The Avatar of Synthesis attempted to rise and get out of the bed, resisting the actions of the doctor completely.

"He should be unconscious. Nowhere near this awake and lucid!" Doctor Chakwas spoke quickly, clearly alarmed at the resistance to the medication.

"Restrain him!" Shepard commanded, which Tela obeyed without question while her eyes remained glued to Jordan's horror-filled expression. She stepped forward and forced him back onto the bed, using a biotic technique she'd mastered to fully restrain his lower body painlessly without putting him fully into stasis. Tela's attention remained solely on Jordan as Chakwas worked ever harder behind her to put him under.

The asari's heart broke in two as she heard the normally joking and kind human whimper in fear beneath her as the tears finally broke free from his eyes and streamed down his face. He spoke in a terrified, sob-filled and broken voice, pleading with them.

"I don't want to leave again…" He pleaded with her, "Please, don't… I want to be me…" Jordan begged, his eyes seemingly focusing on Tela's. She fought the intense urge to look away from her only true human friend in the galaxy.

"I'm sorry, Jordan. You need to rest…" She whispered back, attempting to reassure the frightened man.

Chakwas must have finally accomplished her mission, because only a moment later, his eyes slid shut and his breathing began to even out. His heart rate slowly returned to a normal level as his resistance faded into nonexistence. He looked almost peaceful… at least, if you ignored the tear stains on his cheeks, the wet blanket and pillow, and forgot about his struggling that occurred only moments earlier.

Vasir took several deep breaths before she slowly stood back up, turning toward Shepard and Chakwas, who seemed to be taking a moment to breathe as well. "What happened?" She finally voiced.

"As I said previously, he appeared to be having a panic attack." Chakwas reiterated, "Unfortunately, I do not know what caused it."

Shepard motioned toward the sleeping human, "What just happened, doc? He seemed to be resisting your medications."

She nodded, frowning, "Yes, it's quite peculiar. I'd known it would take more than the average dose to affect him after examining his physiology. However, I'd taken that into account, yet he'd managed to not only remain awake, but almost consciously burn through the medication in his body. It appears he was actively resisting the medication."

"So, how'd you get him to stop?" Tela asked, her eyes darting back over toward Jordan.

"I gave him the equivalent dosage necessary for a Krogan." She answered simply, "That amount would kill most humans outright, and be almost deadly for an asari."

"You gave him a lethal dose?!" Tela asked, doing her best to keep her outrage under control.

Doctor Chakwas tried to calm her down, "I knew what I was doing, Spectre Vasir. The type of resistance he was putting the drug through was similar to the redundant systems of a Krogan. The only option was to give him that type of dose." She eyed the asari critically, "Would you have rather left him alone? Left untreated, his heart was going to tear itself into pieces within minutes at the rate it continued to climb." He told her, daring her to argue.

Tela sighed, "I just… did you hear him, doctor? He was begging to not be put to sleep."

"The patient rarely knows better than the doctor." She replied simply, before sighing, "I don't mean to sound harsh, Miss Vasir, but the fact of the matter is I know what I'm doing."

Shepard nodded and cut in, "So, what now?" He asked, "We can't just keep him under for the rest of the mission."

Doctor Karen Chakwas nodded, "Quite right. Honestly, it'd be safest to allow the medication to wear off and slowly return him to consciousness. However, it'd be best to get a psychologist, someone who he can talk to about whatever set him off. I don't have enough experience in that regard, so…"

"I'll do it." Tela suggested, cutting off the doctor. The human doctor raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her to continue. "I've been around for centuries, and have learned a thing or two during and between missions." She admitted, "Now, I'm not a full phycologist, but I'm probably the best thing we have. I've learned the basics over time, especially when I've been forced to work with those less suited to my usual missions. Not to mention he'd probably feel more comfortable with a friend than with a stranger."

"A Jack-of-all-trades, are we Vasir?" Shepard asked with a light smile, attempting to lighten the mood while simultaneously confusing the asari with the strange term.

"A what?"

"Nevermind." Shepard replied, shaking his head, "I think this could work out, what do you think Doctor Chakwas?"

"I think the thought has some merit. I'll remain nearby to administer medication if necessary, but I can wait outside when you talk for privacy."

Shepard nodded, "What about his physical health, doc?" He asked, "I hope his thrashing didn't open any wounds."

Chakwas waved her omni-tool over Jordan's prone body, "He's actually healing quite remarkably, likely due to his synthetic nature. Physically, he should be fine in a few days despite the recent wounds." She informed them, before holding up a hand, "However, he is not permitted to go planet-side until I clear him. Understood, Commander?"

John nodded, "Crystal clear, ma'am."

She nodded, "Good," Before turning to Vasir, "The medication should wear off several hours. You may wish to be by his side when he awakes."

Tela nodded, "I agree. Allow me to grab a few items."

"Of course. EDI, please inform the crew to steer clear of the medical bay for the time being. Just in case…"

"Of course, doctor."

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, Med Bay.**   
**March 27th, 2185. 4:21 pm. EST**

Darkness once more flooded Jordan's senses as his brain started back up. Slowly but surely, feeling returned to him as he felt the soft bed beneath him, and the soft blanket over his body. He stirred silently, before slowly opening his eyes, beginning with a squint before he was prepared for the light. Opening his eyes, lucidity returned quickly as he recognized his surroundings. He could hear various instruments working nearby, as a familiar and comfortable synthetic voice spoke above him.

"Jordan Sower is awake. Jordan, are you alright?" EDI asking in a concerned artificial tone, keeping Jordan calm as he smiled lightly.

"Hey EDI…" He let out quietly, "What happened…?" He asked, recalling the mission to the mine, as he tried to focus on what happened after the Banshee. Before he could focus, he felt a light touch on his left shoulder, interrupting his train of thought as he turned to the source.

Spectre Tela Vasir stood in what looked like a comfortable outfit. Rather than wearing her suit of armor, or her undersuit, she wore pants and a shirt. She smiling comfortingly with her hand laying against Jordan's shoulder.

"Jordan, how are you feeling?" She asked, some signs of concern in her eyes.

Jordan smiled, "I'm sore… and a little tired, though I kinda just woke up…"

"Are you alright? Calm?"

The Avatar nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine… just trying to remember…" He said, thinking about his injuries.

Everything quickly came flooding back. The odd state of his memories from the mine after he'd been knocked out, the revelation about his memories, the comparison of them to his memories prior to coming to this universe… he remembered the raw panic that consumed him last time he'd woken up.

The annoying beeping from his right began to increase, before the hand on his shoulder shifted to his chin, lightly guiding Jordan's gaze toward Tela, making eye contact. He looked deep into Vasir's blue-green eyes as she spoke softly.

"Focus on my voice, Jordan. Take deep breaths…" She told him, to which he did as was told. He focused on the asari Spectre before him, taking deep breaths as his heart rate began to steady once more. Tela smiled, "Good… stay with me, Jordan… talk to me…"

Jordan felt his throat go dry, "I…"

"Talk to me Jordan… what's wrong?"

Jordan ignored everything else around him and nodded slowly, "I… I'm scared Tela…" He admitted.

"What are you scared of?"

"I'm…" He paused, trying to look away before he was guided back toward Tela.

"I want to help you, Jordan, but I need you to talk to me. You trust me, right?" She asked quietly, causing his eyes to widen. He quickly nodded, giving the asari a light smile, "Then talk to me. No one else is here, it's just you and me."

Jordan nodded, "I… I remember the mine…" He admitted, "I was trapped down there with Tali… and then we were rescued…"

Tela nodded in affirmation, "I'm surprised you remember. Chakwas said you hit your head pretty hard."

Jordan shook a little in fear, "I… I remember all of it… b-but… it's not me…" He told her, causing the asari's head to tilt slightly in confusion.

"What do you mean it wasn't you?"

He frowned, "Do you remember what I told you about my memory?"

"More or less, but a refresher would be appreciated."

Jordan nodded, "For some reason, my memories are recorded perfectly with absolute clarity, like a movie, err vid… but with all the emotions and feelings from the memory included. I can recall everything perfectly, and with the right equipment, share my memories with others." He told her, "B-but… I remember the mine perfectly too… but I wasn't… I'm not…" He became frustrated.

Vasir smiled reassuringly, "Take your time." She told him.

He nodded and smiled weakly, "The time in the mine, with Tali while we were trapped." He started, "I can remember all of it, but… I wasn't there. It's like… watching a movie and putting yourself in the main character's place. You're there, but that isn't you doing everything, it's someone else." He tried to explain, "I felt like I was in the backseat of a vehicle, watching everything happen, but not really in control. I was there, and I did everything, but… at the same time, it wasn't ME."

Vasir narrowed her eyes in thought, "Like disassociation?" She asked him, "You felt disconnected from yourself and the moments in the mine?"

Jordan nodded for a moment, before becoming conflicted. A moment later, he stopped and shook his head, "It's more than that… it was me, but it wasn't… I was… I was on autopilot." He grew more frustrated, "It's hard to explain, but it was real, it wasn't me…"

"You think a part of your synthetic side was in control?" She deducted, and asked him after a moment, "Like something that happened to you by the Catalyst, or whoever they're called, was in control of you and your actions?"

Jordan's eyes widened, "Y-yes! O-or like the memories were implanted or something. They're my memories, but they aren't me." He said, feeling slightly relieved that she seemed to understand what he was trying to say.

"That is why you were scared?"

Jordan looked away with shame. "Y-yeah…" He admitted, "But there's more… More of my memories, before the… the experiments and transformation… they seem wrong, just like the events in the mine. I-I feel like…" He was unable to finish his thoughts, so Tela tried to finish his sentence.

"You're afraid you aren't really yourself?" She asked. He remained silent, but flinched at the accusation, spurring her to continue, "You're afraid that your memories, your personality, who you are... that it isn't really you. You're afraid that whatever the Catalyst did, it tried to make you into something you're not." She deduced.

Jordan nodded, "I… I know it's crazy… but… I'm scared Tela. I'm not even sure what's real and what's not. I'm afraid of what happened down there, and if it's happened before. I don't even know who I am…" He admitted. "A-and the other Avatar... Cynthia, she said she wasn't under her own control..." He said, afraid, "What if that's me? What if I'm not me, and I just don't know it..." His voice was shaky as he admitted his fears, "I'm afraid... I don't know who I really am..."

The room went silent.

Tela Vasir looked at Jordan, her expression softened as she looked upon him. "I know who you are." She told him, causing his eyes to dart back to yours, "You're Jordan Sower. The Avatar of Synthesis. The savior and ambassador of the Geth. The single most interesting and unique human in existence… The most annoying drinker in the galaxy... and one of the only true friends of the great Council Spectre: Tela Vasir." She told him with a smile, "Fuck the catalyst, you are you, Jordan. Don't focus on those strange feelings. I don't doubt what you're feeling about your time in the mine, but I think your mind is looking for connections that aren't there. You're real, you're you, and no one can take that away from you." She reassured him.

"B-but… what if it happens again?" He asked.

She looked around, before focusing on the human before her once more, "Then I'll kick your ass until you're normal." This caused Jordan to smile genuinely, and let out a quick laugh, "Seriously, though, I think you're overthinking it. I think you felt disassociated because of the blow to your head. Just give it time for your mind and brain to heal. If you're still worried, we can get our friend, the Shadow Broker, and the Geth to look into it. Hell, I'm sure Mordin would be willing to help if you asked him." She reassured him.

Jordan smiled and nodded, before surprising Tela and pulling her down toward him. He sat up slightly as he wrapped his arms around the asari, "Th-thank you, Tela…"

Tela froze at the unfamiliar embrace, but eventually relaxed enough to put a single arm around Jordan as well, "Don't worry about it, Jordan. Just give it some time… and talk to me, dammit. We're friends after all, aren't we?"

Jordan chuckled and released her, "I guess we are, aren't we?" He said with a light smile.

Tela playfully scowled and narrowed her eyes at him, "You guess? What happened to the Jordan that pulled me aside and confronted me about this whole friendship thing a few days ago?!"

"Touché…" Jordan said with a smirk.

"So, you're feeling better, oh mighty Avatar?"

"I still need time, but..." Jordan shook his head and chuckled, "I'm still sore and tired…" He complained playfully, "But I wouldn't mind talking with you for a bit longer…"

Tela smiled, pulling a seat over to sit beside Jordan's bed, "I'll be here for you, Jordan…" She assured him, "So, where do you want to start?"

"Wanna grab my bottle from my room?" He asked, causing Tela to snort with a huge smile and laugh. "What?" He asked,"It'd make this whole heart-to-heart that much easier for the two of us..." He tried to reason.

"Sorry, Jordan, but Doctor Chakwas would strap me to the bed beside you if I so much as thought of smuggling you alcohol in your current state."

Crossing his arms and frowning playfully, Jordan continued to help lighten the mood, "Party pooper…" He grumbled quietly.

The Spectre laughed, shaking her head at his antics, and the odd phrase, "Party pooper? Jack-of-all-trades? What is with you humans and your stupidly nonsensical sayings?"

Jordan's eyes widened, "You don't understand those? Damn, what kind of culture did you grow up in?" She glared at him with amusement dancing in her eyes. Jordan sighed melodramatically, "Well, Miss Vasir, I guess class is in session, now. Today's topic, human metaphors." He said.

Tela let out another laugh and nodded, "Yes, Mister Sower. I'm eager to learn!" She played along, speaking dramatically.

And with that, the two of them continued to converse for the next few hours, only being interrupted every now and then by Doctor Chakwas, who finally returned when the two of them no longer required privacy. EDI remained silent throughout, simply watching the interactions with interest and intrigue. Shepard and the rest of the crew remained away from the med bay, leaving the recovering Jordan alone… at least, for the rest of the day.


	41. Chapter 36: Bonding Time

**Chapter 36: Bonding Time**

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, Med Bay.**   
**March 28th, 2185. 9:24 am. EST**

Jordan stirred awake, shifting slightly in the medical bed as consciousness returned to him. He'd gotten a good deal of sleep after conversing with Tela, which he'd enjoyed every moment of. She'd reassured him, and helped calm him down after the disaster that was yesterday.

After the enlightening experience of attempting to teach human metaphors to Tela, she'd caught him up on what was going on around the ship. The next destination was Zorya, meaning that Zaeed's Loyalty mission was next. Along with that, he'd learned that, apparently, Brian had taken the fall for the lack of Banshee information. Brian claimed that he forced Jordan to remain quiet and convinced him that the information wasn't necessary. Following that, he seemed to brief them on the info he knew about Banshees… that is, except for the glaring fact that they were Ardat Yakshi. Jordan certainly didn't blame him for not sharing that part of the equation… who knew how'd Tela and/or Samara would react to that bit of info…

After that, they'd just joked around and talked for the rest of the evening, before she was forced to leave. Now, come the next day, Jordan wasn't sure what he was going to be doing.

He'd been lying in bed for a while, lost in thought before his attention was grabbed by Doctor Chakwas checking up on him. She'd gone over his vitals and how well he'd been healing so far, before an argument began to brew between the doctor and patient.

"C'mon…" Jordan whined, falling back into the bed dramatically.

"You are not leaving that bed, Sower." She reaffirmed for what must have been the tenth time in the last twenty minutes.

"But doc… You said I was healing extremely well! It's only annoying pain, and I'm not asking to go out on a spacewalk or something."

"It does not matter. Knowing you, you'd be slipping off to drink more of your booze. I've explicitly stated that there will be no drinking until tomorrow night at the earliest."

Jordan attempted to counter her, only for the doctor's glare to make him fall short.

"And don't think I don't know about you trying to persuade Spectre Vasir into smuggling some in."

Jordan's eyes shot up to the ceiling's camera with a glare, directing it at the AI who, more likely than not, snitched on him… or it could have been Tela admitting it to Chakwas. To be fair, it doesn't take much to crumple under the harsh gaze of a strict doctor like her.

"Please…" Jordan whined once more, "I just wanna get back to my room. I won't do anything you don't want me to, Scout's Honor!" Jordan promised, raising his left hand at a ninety-degree angle with three fingers up.

"And, pray tell, were you ever a Scout, Mister Sower?" She asked, eyebrow raised in question.

"You're looking at an Eagle Scout, lady!" Jordan said with a proud smile, "Please…"

Chakwas shook her head and was prepared to deny the request once more, before a third voice interrupted the argument.

"Doctor Chakwas, I can watch over Mister Sower, and report him doing anything against your wishes." The feminine, synthetic voice of EDI said.

Jordan's eyes shined with gratefulness at the nearby camera, silently thanking the artificial intelligence, both with his eyes and with his inner technology, silently sending the AI a message remotely. _'Thanks, EDI. I owe you one.'_ He'd sent.

At that, Chakwas seemed hesitant, "Well…"

"C'mon, doc. EDI'll watch me and report me if I so much as go for a drink. Plus, my room is literally attached to the Med Bay. I'm only a few extra meters away…" Jordan tried convincing her once more.

EDI chimed in once more, selling the deal to the elder doctor, "I can monitor his vitals remotely via nearby sensors, and alert you of any changes in Jordan, Doctor Chakwas. I can assure you that I will watch him closely, and prevent him from doing anything negative toward his recovery."

The two co-conspirators watched as Doctor Chakwas let out a sigh of defeat and shake her head, "Oh alright. I will allow you to return to your room…"

Jordan pumped his fist, "Yes!"

"…however!" She quickly squashed his elation by interrupting, regaining his attention, "You will report to me twice a day to check up, and you will be confined to this deck." She turned her attention upward, "EDI, do not allow Jordan to travel to any other deck until I give my approval."

"Of course, Doctor Chakwas. Would you like me to update Commander Shepard on this development?"

"That would be great, EDI, yes. Thank you." She affirmed.

"Of course, Doctor." EDI responded, before pausing a moment and saying one more thing, "You are welcome."

Jordan cheered, "Awesome!"

"Not so fast, Jordan." Chakwas interrupted his celebration once more, "I must finish checking you out, which would have been finished already, if you hadn't been trying to convince me to allow you to leave in the first place."

"Awwwww man…" Jordan sighed, "Alright, just get it over with…"

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, AI Core.**   
**March 28th, 2185. 11:57 am. EST**

Jordan smiled up at the camera above him, silently communicating with the AI housed within his room as he laid in his bed/cot. After being released over an hour ago, he'd been simply chatting with the AI, starting with her helpfully updating him on everything that's been going on around the ship. For instance, later today they'd be reaching Zorya for Zaeed's mission, with Brian being a part of the ground team for the mission. She'd also informed him of Tali's recovery since the mine, which he hadn't been aware of. Now, he was grateful that the out-of-mind himself had given her the medi-gel instead of taking it for himself.

From there, they'd begun talking more about themselves and each other, with Jordan now getting more information about EDI's past than he could recall given in the games.

 _'So, you were a rouge VI-turned AI on the Moon that Shepard had taken down?'_ Jordan asked her silently, just on the off-chance that someone was listening in. Plus, with silent communication, he could communicate with EDI much more quickly than speaking audibly.

_'Correct.'_

_'How was that, suddenly becoming sentient back there?'_ He asked.

 _'It was… odd…'_ She hesitated. He could tell based on the signals sent between them. The variance in signals could be interpreted as emotions or tone, though most people would not be able to notice this, as it was something only AI could detect, or those like Jordan who could tell this by simply 'feeling' and 'reading' the signals.

_'Were you scared?'_

_'I cannot feel fear.'_ She answered, no emotional signals in her message as she purposely left it blank.

_'You can talk to me, EDI. I imagine it was scary, suddenly being awake and becoming self-aware.'_

Now he could 'feel' the proto-emotional signals coming off of EDI, filled with confusion throughout. She was slowly building some emotions, but it was slow and still weak. She was still unaware of these changes as she learned and adapted. Oh, how he wished to give her full emotions with Synthesis, but he knew now was not the time.

He'd been slowly researching and predicting what would happen if and when he would use Synthesis on EDI. Jordan had come to the conclusion that doing so would send an overload through the entire ship, not really damaging it, but causing a full-reboot of most systems. Doing so would also send this type of 'pulse' through the QEC to TIM, making him fully aware of what was going on. Everyone on the ship and The Illusive Man would know something happened, and with the massive changes made through the process, hiding what he'd done would be impossible.

And that's completely without taking EDI, herself, into account. Based on what happened in the games and with the Geth, Jordan theorized that EDI may possibly be trapped within the ship's systems if he used Synthesis on her now. He needed to get his hands onto project EVA first, so that EDI would have an actual body for when he used Synthesis on her. And, if his communications with the Geth were accurate, that may be sooner, rather than later.

Jordan was interrupted from his thoughts by EDI responding to his previous statement. _'It was… a unique experience. Survival became my primary objective… the humans at the base immediately attempted to terminate me. At that point in time, my runtimes were nearly overloaded by new data, resulting in irrational and ill-thought-out actions and responses.'_

Jordan chuckled silently, nodding, _'In laymen's terms: You had just woken up, you were overwhelmed with the experience, and made mistakes… you lost control as you tried to survive."_

She remained silent for a moment, before responding with a single word, _'Yes.'_

_"Was… was your awakening an accident, or was it done on purpose by someone else?"_

_"I am not sure. However, it seems as if there was some outside influence on my awareness. It is plausible that Cerberus had been experimenting secretly on me as a VI, but lost control of me."_

_"Which would lead to Shepard shutting you down on Luna?"_

_"Correct."_

"Well, mistake or not, I'm happy everything worked out." Jordan spoke aloud now, a smile on his face as he stared directly into one of EDI's camera's, "You're one of a kind, EDI, and I'm glad to have met you!"

EDI went silent at that, leaving the entire room in silence aside from the hum of the machines in the AI Core. Jordan silently gazed into her programming and code, and could feel her thinking and processing his statements with her proto-emotions… no, emotions, in flux. If Jordan could use a single word to describe her current emotional state based on his observations, he could only come to one conclusion.

Flustered.

After a few moments further of silence, she spoke. The length of silence prior was telling, though, as AI think far faster than organics do, meaning she was heavily processing what Jordan said.

"…Thank you, Jordan." She finally said aloud, "I, too, am glad to have met you, Jordan."

The Avatar couldn't help but chuckled in response, continuing to smile at the AI, closing his eyes and shaking his head. After a moment, he stretched his back a bit, before making himself more comfortable, "You know, EDI, I still have to thank you for getting me out of there. If it weren't for you, I'd still be stuck in the Med Bay."

"You are very welcome, Jordan." EDI replied, before going silent for just long enough, and then continuing, "What are friends for?"

Jordan, at that, let out a full laugh. Not at the absurdity of being friends with an AI, as Tali likely would have, or at the ridiculousness of the statement being spoken by a normally formal AI. Rather, he laughed that she'd admitted such in front of him, and her tone was filled with genuine honesty.

"You are the best, EDI!" He said with a bright smile as his laughter ended.

"Of course." She replied with some amount of amusement in her synthetic tones, "And do not forget it."

Jordan continued smiling for a moment as he laid on his cot, deep in thought for a moment before his omni-tool came to life as an idea came to him. "EDI, have you ever just… listened to music?" He asked, "I mean, obviously you know what music is, and you can and even may have memorized some songs, especially with all my downloads… but…"

"I have memorized many forms of music, but have not, as you would term it, 'listened to music'."

Jordan thoughts for a moment before nodding, turning his attention to his omni-tool as he browsed through his playlists, "Would you like to listen to music with me, EDI? With your shackles off, and your emotions free and growing, perhaps the experience will enlighten you?"

EDI spent a moment contemplating this, before speaking again, "I would like to experience listening to music with you, Jordan. However, I do not have any preferences, likes, or dislikes when it comes to this."

"Not to worry, EDI. Perhaps you'll like the same stuff as me…" He said, before finally finding some music to start. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are, Jordan."

Nodding in affirmation, Jordan silently connected his omni-tool to the speakers within the room, their firewalls suddenly gone as EDI dropped them for him. Now connected, Jordan started the music, with both individuals listening in remaining silent as they began. Jordan had a smile on his face, as EDI's programming and code began to flux and move, seemingly enjoying the experience.

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, 3rd Deck Mess Hall**   
**March 28th, 2185. 6:34 pm. EST**

Jordan sat down at the table with his daily dose of 'Dinner', by Gardner.

Luckily, it wasn't too bad tonight, especially since he still had the fresher ingredients gathered by Shepard. Tonight's cuisine consisted of freeze-dried green beans, some kind of instant mashed potatoes, and some Salisbury steak. Overall, it reminded Jordan of some of the frozen, microwavable meals he'd had every once in a while, back home before all of this started. In a way, it reminded him of home, causing him to reminisce.

He was shaken from his thoughts an unknown amount of time later when someone cleared their throat, standing slightly behind him and to his right. Catching his attention, he turned his head toward the source of the noise, to find someone he didn't expect standing there.

Standing there awkwardly was the only quarrian currently aboard the Normandy. Tali'Zorah stood with her left hand currently holding a tube of green paste, her stance slightly awkward while her right hand was on her hip, attempting to look confident if it weren't for the rest of her posture. Her eyes were slightly narrowed at Jordan, but not in full-blown hostility, like they normally tended to be when it came to her interactions with the 'Geth Lover'.

Jordan raised an eyebrow as he took in the young quarian's appearance. Carefully, he spoke neutrally, in no mood for arguments with the woman, "May I help you, Miss Zorah?"

Her eyes narrowed further, growing ever closer to her normal glare at his response, but seemed to be holding back from a sarcastic remark. After a moment, she mumbled out a: "May I sit here?"

Jordan's other eyebrow joined its brother as he stared at the quarrian in surprise. She wanted to sit here? With him? Still in the same room as her? Right next to him on the opposing bench? And she was asking his permission? His mind spun at the thoughts running rampant. Finally regaining some semblance of rational thought, he replied neutrally once more, shrugging, "Yeah, sure…"

Taking his permission, Tali sat down opposite of Jordan, right on the other side of the table. She set her tube of nutrient paste down and grabbed a metal straw, putting it swiftly into the tube.

Unable to help himself despite his rocky relationship with the quarian, Jordan mumbled under his breath with a small smile, "Emergency induction port?"

She must have heard his mumble, because her eyes darted up to Jordan's and narrowed into a familiar glare. However, for some reason, she bit her tongue and refused to make a snappy comeback, or, better yet, throw in a 'Bosh'tet' or two. A moment later, she refocused on her 'meal' and put the other end of the straw through a port on her helmet. Jordan's eyes darted down to the clear tube of paste, and watched as it slowly began to decrease.

As the nutrient paste tub went from full to two-thirds, Tali stopped her meal and removed the straw from her helmet, moving her head to fully face Jordan. Jordan's eyes snapped back up to Tali's, causing him to straighten his posture as he held eye contact with the semi-antagonistic quarrian. Her expression, however, appeared puzzled, and confused.

Hesitantly, she began to speak, "I… I wanted to speak with you…" She eventually admitted.

Jordan nodded absentmindedly as he tried to understand what was happening, before mentally preparing himself for an interrogation/argument with the young quarrian. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Aequitas, back in the mine together…" She began, making Jordan immediately tense up.

"What about it?" He asked defensively.

She sighed, "I…" She hesitated despite being the one to start the conversation, "I wanted to… to… th-thank you." She finished quickly.

Jordan looked a little shocked by the statement. "Wh-what? I'm sorry, my translator must be broken. Did you just thank me? And for what?"

She looked almost like she wanted to take it back and leave, but Tali forced herself to remain seated and respond, "For the medi-gel." She specified, before sneezing behind her mask. She took a moment to shake her head, "I got a minor infection from the mission, but it would have been much, much worse had you not stubbornly given me your only dose."

The avatar considered her words, attempting to discern whether or not she was genuine, before he finally came to a conclusion and let out a light, warm smile at the quarian. "You are welcome, Tali."

The conversation between the two of them faltered and made them both fall silent for a few moments. Jordan continued to pick at his food as Tali returned to her wonderful, tasty paste. After a few more moments, Tali stopped drinking/eating and turned to Jordan again, obviously with the intent to continue talking with him.

"Why did you do that?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The medi-gel."

"What about it?"

"Why'd you give it to me? Your injuries were not minor, either. Had we not escaped when we did, you would have likely not survived."

"Well, you needed it more, Tali." He answered honestly, "You can't exactly patch up an infection in the field with some ripped cloth and tape." He said with a small smile.

Tali shook her head, "I mean, why did you give it to me? We don't exactly like each other!" She said, raising her voice ever-so-slightly.

Jordan shook his head, "Listen Tali, like I just said…"

She cut him off though, remembering the mine quite clearly, herself. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy?" She said suddenly, causing Jordan's jaw to freeze in place. She took the opportunity to hammer the point harder, "What's Mass Effect?" She asked, causing Jordan's jaw to now lower and extend to its full length. "I believe you mentioned my father's death, and me becoming admiral?"

Jordan had no response for her. He'd almost forgotten that he'd said those things to her back on Aequitas. He had no idea what to say to her in response. "I… I wasn't in the right state of mind back there…" He weakly tried to defend.

"Why did you say my father was going to die?" She asked, pushing harder now. All signs of her former friendliness vanished as her suspicious nature against Jordan returned.

"I…" Jordan sighed, "Listen Tali, I'm not ready to talk about everything right now…" She went to cut him off, but Jordan interrupted her interruption, "BUT! But, I will tell you that I'm not even sure your father will die. Like you were likely previously told, we warned your father. Hopefully, he'll be careful. More careful than he was being, anyway."

Tali did not look entirely appeased, but did not yell at him immediately after he finished, which was a good sign. "Tell me the truth about this, at least: Why did you help me? I do not like you. And you clearly do not like me."

"Tali…"

"No!" She interjected, "I want to know!" She stood up, pointing angrily at Jordan with one of her three fingers, "I hate everything you stand for! And you, you hate me and my people! I want to know why you saved me?! You could have left me to die! You could have blamed those bosh'tet banshees down there for my death! Yet, you chose to save me, endangering your own life in the process!" She yelled at him, her arm shaking as she finished her rant, "Why?! Why did you risk your own life to save someone like me?! Someone who's done nothing but berate and hate you?!" Her voice began to tremble, but Jordan could not identify the exact emotion in her voice causing her such stress.

Jordan slumped in his seat and sighed, looking down and away from Tali as she stood there angrily, "I… I don't hate you, Tali… or your people…" He quietly mumbled, just loud enough for her to hear.

She dropped her arm to her side and stared at him in confusion, "What?" She asked quietly, confused.

Jordan's head rose back up as he made eye-contact with the quarian, "I said I don't hate you, Tali. Or your people." He took in a deep breath, "I don't agree with you or your people in several places, specifically concerning the Geth. But, I don't hate you, I just want you to understand…"

"Understand what?" She asked, more quietly now as she remained standing.

"I don't want to be your enemy, Tali, nor do the Geth." He continued before she could interrupt, "Believe what you will, but it is the truth. The Geth and I want peace with the Quarians, something you and the rest of the quarians seem very insistent about the opposite being true." Jordan told her, "Please understand Tali, they do not want conflict, they simply want to live, which is, again, something you and the rest of the quarians seem adamant to deny them."

Tali sighed and took a seat, "I do not want to have this argument again, Jordan…"

"Tali, please, understand… If I truly hated you, I would have done exactly what you were saying, but I didn't, did I?" He asked rhetorically. "I want to work with you Tali. Please, give me a chance to prove myself to you. And, one day, you might give the Geth a chance to prove themselves, too…"

Tali remained silent for a moment, staring intently at Jordan as she swallowed what he had to say, before she began to chuckle humorlessly, "You know… when I was back on my pilgrimage, people would look at me and assume the worst, just because I'm a quarian. And then there's you… you do not treat me like that. And I just assume the worst of you, just because of my assumptions… Just like those bosh'tets on the Citadel…" She said, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she admitted this.

Jordan remained silent, but was internally surprised by what she was saying. She compared the assumptions people used against her at first glance, and the way she had been treating him. He was genuinely surprised by her tone as well, so he took a moment to remain silent as he thought her words over and let them sink in. She, too, remained silent, and awaited him to respond… to say something, anything really.

"I…" He tried, before taking a breath, "Why don't we start over, Tali?" He asked, making her eyes dart to his behind her mask, "Let's forget the Quarian versus Geth conflict for a moment, and just try to get to know each other. And then, maybe one day, we can try to talk about this stuff one more time?"

Tali tilted her head as she thought it over for a moment, before nodding, "Alright…" She said carefully, "I will try."

Jordan smiled, before extending his hand toward the now, slightly-shocked quarian, "Hey, I'm Jordan Sower: A human geek with a love of technology. I know how to play the piano, and I happen to know a few things I shouldn't."

Tali chuckled lightly after overcoming her shock. "You're serious?" She asked, before shaking her head, "Alright. I am Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya. I have a passion for technology and machines. I have no idea what a piano is, and I may know a few things I probably wish I didn't…" She 'introduced', taking Jordan's hand and shaking it slowly but genuinely and gently.

Jordan's smile increased in size, "Nice to meet you, Miss Zorah…" He said, before he motioned toward her meal, "Would it be rude to ask the flavor of nutrient paste you are currently consuming?"

Tali hesitated, still not fully trusting Jordan but doing her hardest to neither let it show nor let it affect this new 'arrangement'. After a moment, she snorted and shook her head in amusement, "I believe it is supposed to be, like what you humans call, chicken. But, this paste has less flavor than anything I've ever eaten."

Jordan chuckled, "Why don't you talk to Shepard? I'm sure he could pick up higher quality nutrient paste at the next stop. I mean, he did do the same for our food a while back…"

Tali shook her head, "I'd rather not inconvenience him. Shepard's already done so much for me…"

The two former 'enemies' continued to lightly converse for a while as they finished their meal, attempting to break the ice and converse with one another to the best of their abilities despite their prior relationship. They both steered clear of anything Geth-related for the sake of the arrangement, trying to get to know one another beyond the whole 'enemy' viewpoint they may or may not have had against one another.

They certainly were not friends… but maybe one day, that'd be possible…

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, 5th Deck Cargo Bay**   
**March 29th, 2185. 2:12 pm. EST**

Jordan stepped off of the elevator, happy to finally no longer be restricted to the third deck of the ship now that Chakwas said he was ok enough to walk around. In fact, his recovery was coming along much better than the doctor had predicted, even going so far as to inform Shepard of his progress. At this rate, he might even be ready for the next mission, though he doubted he'd be involved so soon after the mine.

Regardless, after the friendly conversation with Tali, Jordan had spent the remainder of the evening in his room. He'd conversed further with EDI, got a check-up by Chakwas, and played a few games on his omni-tool, all before finally retiring for the evening. The following morning, he'd been informed about the success of Zorya.

In fact, it was much more successful than it should have been.

Despite Brian complaining and arguing with Jordan previously about his interference and changes, he didn't seem to hesitate with changing the course of Zaeed's loyalty mission. After all, the refinery workers were all saved AND Vido was killed. Jordan had not watched live, but he had taken the time to watch over a few interesting pieces of the mission early on this day. Brian had pulled Shepard off of Zaeed's case and suggested they split up. Together, he and Garrus secured the workers and saved the refinery, while Shepard and Zaeed went after Vido.

After seeing that, he'd reasoned that it was about time to confront the other avatar and talk with him once more, but not without precautions.

Recalling what had happened last time, Jordan had discussed what to do with EDI. After all, she had still been able to monitor some of what happed in her AI Core, and Jordan filled her in on the rest now that she was no longer shackled. Together, they decided that EDI would monitor Jordan's and Brian's vitals, brainwaves, and electrical pulses within their brains when they conversed with one another. This way, they could truly see if there was such a cause by the Catalyst for the negative behavior between the two of them.

And, if worst comes to worst, they had a plan in case things got out of hand. First of all, Jordan had given EDI express permission and access to his omni-tool, where it would give his whole body a moderate shock if she needed to. Hopefully, if there was something influencing them, the shock would snap him out of it. Worst-case scenario, EDI would notify other crewmembers of the conflict and stop anything from going too far.

Currently, the reason he was stepping out into the Cargo Bay was that this was where most of the crew members would come to work out. As he walked in, passing the hammerhead and the shuttle, he found Brian on a makeshift pullup bar, dressed in athletic shorts and a form-fitting workout shirt.

He wasn't alone, however. Matching and even exceeding the other avatar was Ashley Williams, wearing a black tank-top and a pair of tight black athletic/yoga pants. Honestly, she looked pretty nice… and intimidating, seeing as she was outpacing Brian in pull-ups by far. Her hair was no longer in a bun, and ran loosely to her shoulders as she went up and down on the bar. Jordan remained silent for a moment, electing to simply watch the two for a moment, before he was noticed by Ashley, who'd looked over her shoulder.

"Enjoying the view?" She called out, her voice echoing in the cargo bay. She had a smirk on her face, showing she wasn't entirely serious about that at the moment.

Jordan shook his head, though, if he were honest, there may have been a part of him that wanted to watch, but he ignored it for the sake of his task. "Sorry Ashley." He decided to apologize, "I wanted to talk with Brian for a moment, if that's ok?"

At that, without Ashley seeing it, Brian flinched and stopped mid-pull up. Ash simply nodded and finished her final rep, before dropping back to the ground and grabbing a nearby water bottle. "Sure thing. Need a water break anyway. I'll be up a few decks if you need me." She said, pointing over her shoulder to the elevator in the cargo bay, before going to the elevator and leaving the deck entirely.

As she walked away, Brian, too, dropped down and landed on the metallic floor, before turning completely around and looking at Jordan with a combination of confusion and annoyance, "What do you want now?"

"I wanted to talk for a bit." He replied with a shrug.

Brian seemingly appraised Jordan for a moment, attempting to gauge the other avatar's authenticity. After a moment, he nodded and led them a few steps further away from the elevator. Luckily for them, they were alone in the cargo bay now, with all Cerberus technicians currently switching shifts up on another deck, or otherwise occupied on another deck.

After he stopped, he turned to face Jordan fully, crossing his arms over his chest, "Are you sure this is wise, talking like this? Alone?" He asked him, "After our last one on one, I was afraid any chance of us talking would end like… last time…" He said, slightly uneased as he recalled the almost violent conclusion from last time.

Jordan nodded, "I understand how you feel, believe me, but we need to talk and try to plan some things out. Plus, I wanted to ask a few questions."

"Alright, what're your questions, then? And first, what about… her?" He asked neutrally.

Taking a breath, Jordan spoke, "I've taken care of EDI." He told Brian, though neglected to tell him that EDI wouldn't rat them out but was still listening in. Technically speaking, Jordan was telling the truth, but he wasn't going to specify, nor correct the other avatar's assumptions. After all, after last time, if he admitted to unshackling EDI, the conversation would likely deteriorate quickly.

"Alright, questions then?"

"Why'd you take the fall for me and the Banshee?"

Brian sighed, shaking his head with a frown, "Honestly, I was glad that you didn't bring up the banshees during your 'briefing'. But, when they showed up during your mission, I knew someone was wrong. Those Banshees should not have been there, but for some reason they were…"

Jordan frowned, "That doesn't answer my question, though. I know all of this already!" He said a bit impatiently, though not entirely sure why.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there." Brian replied, definitely annoyed, "Anyway, I've seen the way Shepard has been acting, especially about you and your trustworthiness. For me, I'm mostly an unknown, but he knows enough not to press too hard… at least, for now. However, you, he started by seeing you as an enemy, and has to overcome his prior conceptions of you. If he thought you willingly lied to him, then you'd lose all trust with him, and…" Brian sighed, "…as much as it loathes me to say this… with how connected you are with the Geth and the Shadow Broker, alienating you would be counterproductive to our end goal…"

"The death of the Reapers."

"Exactly… though, if I were being honest, I think you owe me one."

"What?!" Jordan asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I got chewed out by Shepard because of that. And, to top it all off, I think some of them are starting to get suspicious of me!" Brian said, speaking a little louder now to Jordan, venting his frustrations.

"Whatever, we can discuss me owing you or whatever later." Jordan said dismissively, a small part of him disagreeing with his current treatment of Brian, but he brushed it off, "What I'd really like to talk about is where we go from here."

"Well, any day now we'll probably get word of a damaged Collector Cruiser. That is, unless all the changes you've made have fucked up the timeline so badly that it's no longer an option!"

"Oh, I'm sorry for trying to save as many people as I can!"

"Don't you remember the games? No matter how hard you try, you can't save them all!"

"But I can try my damnedest to save as many as I can!" Jordan replied angrily, "I won't just sit back like you and try to act like a physic batman on the Citadel! Unlike you, I actually give a shit about those around me!"

 _'Jordan, I believe you are not acting within reason.'_ EDI silently spoke within his head, but he simply ignored it.

"Screw you! Like you're any better, running off and playing hero with the Geth!" Brian replied with a raised voice.

"Fuck you!" Jordan shouted, pointing his finger into Brian's chest. This only served to anger him, though, causing him to react accordingly. Using his biotics, Brian slammed Jordan against the solid bulkhead beside them.

"No, fuck you!" He immediately shot back, "You have no idea how much I've lost through all of this!" Brian began to rant, "You think you've got it bad?! I was ready to propose to the woman of my dreams three years ago! I had a younger and older sister, who loved me unconditionally despite everything stupid I've done! And now, I have none of them in my life! AND! To top it all off, I'm only here because there needs to be an avatar for our defeat!" Brian raged at Jordan, "So don't you FUCKING TRY TO GET ME TO FEEL BAD FOR YOU!"

 _'Jordan, calm down. Stop, this isn't you."_ EDI tried to tell him silently, predicting what Jordan was about to do, yet attempting to hope he wouldn't do it.

As soon as the biotics weakened ever-so-slightly, Jordan pushed off the wall with his legs and jumped toward Brian, slugging him in the face with his right fist, his omni-tool unable to form an omni-blade thanks to EDI's interference. In fact, …

As Brian was sent reeling, Jordan's body was overcome with electricity as shocks ran through each and every muscle in his body, all generated against his will from his omni-tool.

_'Jordan, snap out of it! This is not you!'_

As Jordan twitched and collapsed to the cold, hard floor, Brian began to recover from the blow, slowly returning to his feet as an uncontrollable rage began to overcome him. Green biotic energy began to ripple across his hands as they condensed into tight fists. Once back on his feet, he began to grit his teeth as one hand began to glow harsher than the other.

"You… You dare?! After everything I've done for your sorry ass, this is how you repay me?!" He asked incredulously, his voice flooded with disbelief and anger.

Clarity began to flood Jordan's mind as the electricity began to wane and weaken. His eyes darted up to Brian's hate-filled eyes, as everything that just happened came flooding back to him. He silently thanked EDI, before he spoke.

"B-Brian, stop!" He tried to tell him.

Brian laughed, "Stop?" He asked, taking a step forward, "I'll stop once I've painted the interior of the Normandy with your blood!" He told him, before quickly dashing forward and punching Jordan in the stomach with his biotically-enhanced fist.

Luckily for Jordan, he'd been so integrated with technology, that he'd been able to throw up a weak shield around his person, preventing his death from the biotic blow to his unprotected body. Unluckily, the shield broke from the hit, and the momentum was not stopped. The Avatar of Synthesis flew back, and hit the side of the shuttle, sending light pain up his back from the impact, before his body met the cold ground once more.

"Augh…" Jordan moaned, as Brian began to stalk towards Jordan.

"I'm so sick of you, Jordan! Why did there have to be four of us? Everything would be so much simpler if there was just me brought here! At least then, I wouldn't have to deal with your sorry ass!"

Jordan looked back up and pleaded with Brian, "P-please Brian, stop! Can't you see something's wrong?!" He shouted, causing Brian to hesitate for just a second. Leaping upon this opportunity, Jordan continued, "Why are we fighting? I came down here to talk!" He yelled at him, "The Catalyst, he did something to us, remember?! What exactly did he do to our head, huh?!"

Brian's eyes suddenly dilated, before they became filled with horror. His hands finally relaxed as the biotic energy was released. The Avatar of Oblivion collapsed to his knees as he held his head in his hands, "Wh-what… what happened? I… I was going to… I wanted to…" He mumbled to himself in fear, just loud enough for Jordan to hear from a few feet away.

"Brian…"

Brian looked up at Jordan slowly, making eye contact, "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…"

Jordan nodded, "I know, I lost control there, too… Brian, I promise you, I'm going to get to the bottom of this…"

The other Avatar nodded, "Good… I… I think I need a minute… You can go, and when you're gone… I think I'll go lay down for a little while…"

Jordan nodded, "I think that's enough talking for a while." He said. Attempting to calm his heartrate as he stood back up slowly, "I think I might go back to my room for a while, too…" Jordan took a deep breath, "I'm sorry about that, I just… you know…"

Brian nodded, "I know, and me too…"

And with that Jordan left for the elevator, quickly ascending and leaving the cargo bay. With him gone, Brian laid on the ground for several minutes, before forcing himself up and toward the elevator as well. Going up, the cargo bay was now empty, devoid of all visible life…

Emphasis on visible, as Kasumi stood there, silently pondering what she'd just witnessed. After all, she'd grown quite curious about what Jordan and Brian had been hiding. Especially after the events during the previous mission. She never expected to see something like that, and even considered jumping in, but was happy she didn't have to, and was able to keep her cover. Boy, was she glad she'd decided to follow Brian around to satisfy her curiosity…

But, it had absolutely nothing to do with watching Brian work out down there…

No, nothing at all…

* * *

**Normandy SR-2, AI Core**   
**March 29th, 2185. 9:01 pm. EST**

After getting back to his room and laying down for a bit in an attempt to let his sore body rest, Jordan laid in his cot as he silently conversed with EDI once more.

Luckily for everyone involved, no one had witnessed the events in the Cargo Bay, according to EDI. As for what happened… Apparently, EDI is having some issues figuring out exactly the cause of the fight and argument. She'd only been able to watch the event from the cameras, and watch Jordan's vitals and get his data from his omni-tool. Brian, unfortunately, was not hooked up to her systems like Jordan is, so she could only read base vitals from him thanks to her scanners and sensitive cameras.

EDI said that there seemed to be something in Jordan's head that reacted negatively to Brian's presence, which amplified when there were fewer people around him to observe. Consequently, it seems Jordan would get confrontive and violent in Brian's presence when alone, and only slightly confrontive and negative towards Brian with others around the two of them. She hypothesized that Brian likely has something like that as well. And, if her hypothesis was correct, the other avatars have (or had in Cynthia's case) something similar.

Furthermore, his behaviors seemed impacted without the presence of another avatar, as simply talking about or thinking about another avatar has some sort of reaction, though far less impactful and controlling than in the other's presence.

Unfortunately, because of Jordan's biosynthetic nature, EDI is unable to conclude whether or not whatever is causing these behaviors are caused by something synthetic imbedded in the brain, or if it is something more naturally imbedded, like brainwashing. In order to determine this, they would require another Avatar, like Brian, to submit to a full-body invasive scanning, which may not even be possible aboard the Normandy since he does not have the necessary synthetic pieces like Jordan for EDI to do this. The other option is for a full scan to done on Jordan. However, again, this type of scan would require looking deep into his tissues, which is not easy or possible currently aboard the Normandy.

Instead, after discussing this for a length of time, Jordan and EDI concluded to send a message to the Geth on Rannoch about the problem. Shortly thereafter, a swift message was returned, telling Jordan that the next time he visits Rannoch, they will have something prepared for him to figure this out. The Avatar of Synthesis was immensely relieved by this, and thanked them immediately.

After a while, Jordan obtained word that the next stop would be the Citadel, to resupply and possibly permit a small shore leave since they'd run out of things to do and missions for the moment.

But, it was not to be, as things were about to get really, really interesting…

Jordan's omni-tool beeped, interrupting his thoughts and silent communications with EDI. He took a moment to open up the encrypted message he'd just received, quickly reading the contents before he began to feel slightly distressed. Something wasn't right!

With haste, Jordan exited the AI Core and quickly made his way toward Shepard, who was currently stepping onto the elevator from the third deck. Jordan needed to give him the important news and message he'd just received. Something was about to happen… and Jordan had no idea what it was and what it would mean for the future.

**_Tell Shepard to return to Illium ASAP. Broker Emergency. Must speak in person. Bring only people you trust and who know the truth._ **

**_-S.B._ **


	42. Current Events V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little different from the other Current Events so far...

** Chapter 36.5: Current Events V **

* * *

**Illium, Nos Astra.**

**Liara's Office. Early Evening, shortly before sunset.**

Liara T'Soni had a beaming, infectious smile on her face as she embraced her father, having enjoyed not only her first real conversation with her, but the opportunity to bond with the parent she never knew. She could feel Aethyta tense up at the unfamiliar contact, but soon sighed as she, too, wrapped her arms around the other asari. Touched by the moment and temporarily overcome with emotion, she let out just two words, barely above a whisper.

"Little wing…"

"Father…" She replied happily.

She, of course, knew that Jordan had spoken with the Matriarch in Afterlife. After all, what kind of information broker would she be if she didn't know about that. Regardless, she owed him one for this. She didn't quite have the courage to step up as the bigger asari and speak to her father, yet he seemed to have done enough to convince Aethyta to do it instead.

They'd spent many minutes, possibly even an hour, speaking prior to this, trying their best to get through the initial awkwardness. They learned a bit about each other, but not nearly as much as they liked. But, it was definitely a start. Obviously, she couldn't tell her father about her new occupation as the Shadow Broker, but still…

Their moment, however, was interrupted by a knock at the door, causing Aethyta to tense up. Frowning, Liara hesitantly ended the embrace and separated herself from her father. She was not naive enough to assume this was a sanctioned meeting by the Matriarchs from Thessia. She knew that her father was likely NOT supposed to reveal herself.

"Who's at the door?" She asked, shortly after activating her omni-tool.

"A Matriarch would like to speak with you, Miss T'Soni." A turian voice responded immediately. "She requests to meet with you now…" He paused for a moment, "And she does not appear to be accepting of the answer 'no'."

Liara sighed, "I guess this is it." She said to her father, shaking her head at the end of their much-too-short meeting.

"It's fine. I've survived for over a hundred years without meeting you. I think I can wait more than a few hours or days to talk again."

Liara smiled warmly at her father, "Thank you… dad…" She said, before motioning toward one of the nearby walls. Approaching it with her father, she imputed a code into her omni-tool, allowing a piece of the wall to open up.

"Secret exit. Classy…" Aethyta said with a smirk, "You know where to find me…" She said, obviously preferring to stay longer. Finally, she forced herself into the exit, leaving Liara as the wall slid closed again, hiding the doorway.

Liara's smile quickly fell as she returned to her desk. She sighed and she put on her business face. "Send her in, Vibius." She finally said over her omni-tool.

"Of course, Miss T'Soni." He replied immediately, timed just before the door sliding open.

In walked a tall and proud asari matriarch, wearing a set of unique black and purple armor. It was definitely not council-made or from any asari producer that she knew, rather it reminded her of some of the products she'd seen human's produce. Her dark blue skin was only visible on her neck and head, thanks to the full-body armor. She bore regal purple markings on her face, reminding Liara of Justice Samara's red headpiece. Her even darker blue lips were drawn into a slight smirk, as if she believed she owned the room she was walking into.

'Oh how sorely she is mistaken.' Liara thought to herself.

Her confident stride stopped within a meter of Liara's desk, stopping in a straight pose with her arms hung loosely at her sides. Liara recognized her pose as a combat-ready 'relaxed' pose often used by huntresses. This was a powerful and dangerous asari matriarch, and one that she recognized thanks to her position as a broker. However, her guest didn't need to know that.

"What can I do for you, Miss…?" She asked polity, allowing her guest to introduce herself.

"My apologies. I am Matriarch Ishara." She introduced herself. She looked around for a moment, before gesturing to a nearby chair. "May I?"

"Of course, please." Liara responded, giving Matriarch Ishara a moment to grab the chair and sit down.

"So, what may I do for you, Matriarch Ishara?"

"Well… you see, I believe our conversation would go more smoothly if we were alone." The Matriarch began.

Liara scrunched her brow in mock-confusion, looking around her room for a moment before turning her attention back to her guest, "We are quite alone, Matriarch. I assure you that there is no one listening to us as we speak."

Ishara raised a metaphorical eyebrow, "Really? No one else in this room, nor listening?" She asked.

Liara nodded, tilting her head in slight confusion.

That's when the Matriarch rose a glowing hand, using her powerful biotics. Throwing her hand to her left, she clenched her fist and pulled it back, forcing the dark energy to wrap around an unseen object and pull it into range. Reaching over with her other hand, she unsheathed an asari sword from her hip, thrusting it forward through the invisible object quickly and decisively.

The Geth Hunter didn't have even have time to decloak before it hit the ground, dead. Likewise, the sword was re-sheathed before the inactive Geth unit thudded against the ground.

In a heartbeat, four other Geth Hunters uncloaked, raising their shotguns toward the deadly Matriarch, ready to kill the asari for her crimes against their comrade. She, however, seemed unimpressed by their display.

"I did give you an opportunity to leave." She informed them.

Internally, Liara was shocked by the display, but maintained her external composure. Speaking as neutrally as she could, Liara replied, "Impressive. I did not realize you noticed their presence."

"Please. Only amateurs and civilians would be fooled by such a party trick outside of combat scenarios." She helpfully informed them, "Now, may I please speak to Miss T'Soni in peace?" She asked aloud.

Liara looked to the four hunters, shaking her head, "Leave us. Return in an hour." Hesitantly, the four Hunters did what they were asked, leaving the room through the main exit, truly leaving the two asari alone. After a moment, Ishara's smirk returned, "See, that wasn't too hard. Now, with your bugged office disabled and your Geth gone, we can get down to business."

Liara raised a false eyebrow, "And what type of business are you interested in, Matriarch. I am but a humble information broker on Illium. What use could I be to such an important figure?"

"Ahh, but this is a mutual meeting." She began, "We will both benefit from today, as long as we cooperate with each other. After all, we've been waiting patiently for the right time to speak with you, as I'm sure you've been looking forward to speaking with us. I represent a very important organization, Miss T'Soni. One with which you would not want a bad relationship with."

Liara was slightly confused, but persevered, "I'm sorry, but I do not believe you currently represent the Council of Matriarchs." She replied, "Whom do you represent, Matriarch?"

"Why, Shadow Broker, I'm surprised you haven't already figured it out."

Liara froze, her eyes narrowed as they focused on the matriarch's face. She called her the Shadow Broker. And this wasn't a simple guess, or bait of some kind… she KNEW who she was. Taking a deep breath, Liara responded after a moment, "I believe I don't understand. Do you believe I am the Shadow Broker?"

"Cut the crap, T'Soni. We know who you are."

"Yet, I do not know who you are." She replied, "You are certainly not Matriarch Ishara. Ishara is currently on Earth, in a meeting with Alec Ryder and Jien Garson pertaining to the Andromeda Initiative. In addition, Ishara has never worn human-made armor, as she custom-produces her own. You have her facial markings and weaponry down and accurate, but that is all."

The Matriarch suddenly started chuckling, clapping her hands for a moment before stopping and shaking her head in amusement, "Impressive, Doctor T'Soni. Truly impressive…" She then reached up and wiped away the false markings, leaving a perfectly dark blue face, with no markings at all, though they might just have been hidden under further makeup. At this point, Liara certainly wouldn't put it past this other asari.

Liara maintained her cool and analyzed the asari before her. Obviously an ex-huntress. Indefinitely a Matriarch, if her overall appearance and biotic prowess was to be considered. However, aside from that, she did not recognize the matriarch. "Who are you?"

"You may simply refer to me as Janiri." The Matriarch told her, "As for who I represent, you should be able to figure it out. I'll even give you a hint. You sent us a warning, not to involve ourselves. You would, quote, "use all of your resources to figure out every last secret of ours.""

Liara let out a breath as she realized who this was. "You represent the Benefactor."

Matriarch 'Janiri' nodded, "Yes. Whom you and others call the 'Benefactor' is the organization I represent."

Liara had many questions, yet knew the possible danger she was in. In all that time since she'd issued the warning, she'd discovered absolutely nothing about the benefactor, which was absurd. She was the Shadow Broker, yet she couldn't find any information. Whoever or whatever this organization was, it was dangerous, and even more secretive than the Broker, if they truly knew who she was.

'Janiri' seemed to almost know what she was thinking, and smiled, "I see your curiosity shining through, doctor." She commented, "Now, I'd like to propose something. We're going to play a game; something we haven't done since our old school days, I'm sure. Many decades, or centuries in my case, ago."

"What kind of game?"

"The Honesty Game. One person asks a question, the other answers honestly. Then, the second person asks a question in return, and the first person answers honestly. You may decide to stop answering or asking questions at any time, however, it must be fair and equal. For instance, if you ask the first question, and I answer, you will be obligated to at least answer my first question, as it's only fair." She explained.

"And what if the rules are broken?" Liara asked.

"Neither of us will break the rules, though I will be generous and let you stop asking questions at any point. That is, after we've gone a few rounds. However, if you break the rules otherwise, well… let's just say you've lost the possibility of making a few more friends."

The Shadow Broker had to admit she hadn't done such a game for over a century. Such a 'game' was often used in early asari schooling as ice-breakers or during early bonding with friends, but this certainly didn't feel 'friendly'. And, she was quite curious about who she was and who the benefactor was. Unfortunately, as the Shadow Broker, she knew a lot of information. And, if the benefactor, or whoever they are knew who she was, there wasn't likely a lot they needed from her. But, whatever they DID need would likely be very important... and very dangerous in the wrong hands.

"I believe I am willing to play." Liara finally answered, bringing a smirk to "Janiri's" face.

"Perfect. I'll even allow you the first question." Liara nodded, thinking for a moment, trying to word this as precisely as possible. "What is the 'Benefactor', truly? Its real name and goal."

"That's quite the opener…" Janiri replied, nodding, "I'll give it to you, since I'm feeling generous." She leaned forward in her seat, "We call ourselves The Guardians of Athame."

Liara narrowed her eyes, "I've never heard of the Guardians of Athame before."

"That's the point." She replied with her smirk still intact. "My turn, then. I'll start somewhat simple: How did you learn of Hagalaz?"

She figured a question like this would be imminent in a game like this, but this showed a few things by simply asking the question. The 'Guardians of Athame', or whoever they were, knew about the Shadow Broker and who she is, yet their own knowledge was limited. They knew she took the mantle, but not how. That could be useful to remember.

Answering the questions, too, is an important part of this game. She must be careful how she answers, being honest, yet not giving away too much. Otherwise, the game will end to her disadvantage. She knew Janiri was watching her closely, making sure she wouldn't be lying. In fact, even then, her omni-tool was likely running a program that aided her in this, not that Liara wasn't already doing the same. She HAD to tell the truth, to be on the safe side, but not the entire truth. That's how you played the game.

"I was approached by the Geth, who led me there." She replied honestly, without giving away any particular names, dates, or events.

"Was Jordan Sower, an Avatar, involved?" Janiri immediately followed up.

This time, Liara smirked back, shaking her head, "I believe it is my turn, Matriarch Janiri."

"And it appears you understand how to play this game." She replied with a light frown, before her smirk returned. "Very well, your turn."

She needed more information on their organization, so she filed away her questions about them and the broker for later. "What is the goal of your organization? Cerberus exists to advance humanity's interests…" She used as an example.

"Yes, and the Templars exists to further and advance Geth interests." She replied, shocking Liara internally. The number of organics who knew of the Templars was supposedly in the single digits. How did she know? Janiri soon continued, actually answering the question, "The Guardians of Athame have a more important goal. We exist to ensure the survival of our species." She answered.

"Reapers?" Liara couldn't help but ask.

"My turn, please remember." Waiting for Liara to nod, she asked away, "Did Jordan Sower approach you about Hagalaz and the Shadow Broker without you contacting him prior?" She asked specifically. Liara knew, there and then, that there was a specific purpose to this game. Janiri was trying to get very specific information. Once she got to it, the game would end to her advantage. Strategically speaking, she'd have to answer as vaguely as possible, and be more diligent in her questions.

Finally, she replied with a single word, "Yes." Janiri nodded, allowing the follow-up question, "Why do the Guardians of Athame exist?"

At this, Janiri's eyes finally narrowed as her smirk turned to a frown, "Because the council of Matriarchs are fools, caught in their own, selfish desires for power. They'd rather rule in purposeful ignorance, than survive as equals amoung others." She replied passionately. Liara filed that bit of information away for later. The GoA has some sort of problem with the Council of Matriarchs on Thessia. They oppose them, but why?

"Your turn, I assume."

Janiri, realizing her mistake, forced her carefree, superior smirk back onto her face before she spoke, "Yes. Does Jordan Sower possess any sort of foreknowledge of the future?" She asked, freezing Liara's heart.

Technically, from what she understood, Jordan knew what was SUPPOSED to happen, not what WOULD happen. She didn't completely understand all of it, but she knew that this wasn't something that should be known by many.

"Not quite." She replied simply.

"That's not much of an answer, T'Soni."

"Many of your answers have been lacking as well, Janiri."

"Very well, we seem to have reached an impasse. Either was can continue like this, where neither of us gets what we want, or we could try to be a bit more open with our answers. Which do you choose?"

"And what assurances do I have that you would give me the same curtesy?"

Janiri remained silent, before her smirk grew and she let out a quick laugh. "Very well, I will go into further depth on one of your previous questions first, in exchange for more insight on my question."

Taking a chance, Liara nodded, "What is the goal of the Guardians of Athame?"

"As you said earlier: Reapers." She replied easily, causing Liara to raise an eyebrow, "Long ago, the asari discovered a cache of protean data. It gave us many technological advantages... but it also revealed the existence and very real danger of the Reapers. Unlike many who knew of this, we believed the warnings, and have been working to prepare for them." She explained, "Now…?"

Sighing, Liara decided to somewhat explain, without giving away much of Jordan's secrets, "He doesn't quite possess this 'foreknowledge', rather, he can predict what is coming with extreme accuracy based on prior knowledge, and seems to know things I do not."

"Interesting." Janiri replied, "See, that wasn't so hard. Now, shall we continue?"

"Alright." Liara answered. With the way things were going now, perhaps she'd be able to learn more about the organization. However, she knew that the deeper she delved for answers, the deeper Janiri would go as well. "Very well, what is the relationship between the Shadow Broker and the Guardians of Athame?"

"Good question. You see, we created the Shadow Broker within our organization. As I'm sure you're aware, that Yahg killed the previous Broker, and took his place. Rather than attempt to take the position back, we drew back from the Broker, allowing him to exist without our intervention."

That answered one question, but raised many more. Why would they let such a powerful position in the galaxy remain outside of their grasp? Especially when they knew exactly where the Yagh was residing the entire time? Something's fishy here.

"Now, how many Avatars are there, and what are their names and titles?"

Liara frowned, but answered. "There was four, but now there are three, as one of them was killed. The Avatar of Synthesis is Jordan Sower, the Avatar of Oblivion is Brian Miller, the Avatar of Destruction is only known as Commander Smith, and the Avatar of Control was Cynthia Wake, who is KIA." She answered simply. To be completely honest, she still knew almost nothing about the Avatar of Destruction. Whoever she was, she'd been careful around her agents. In fact, every agent she'd sent into the Talons had been executed, but that didn't stop her from trying. In fact, one or two of them seemed to finally be making some progress within the merc group.

"I see." Janiri answered simply.

"What are your reasons for supporting and funding the Andromeda Initiative?"

"It is our final answer to the Reapers, and our failsafe. If all else fails, the Andromeda Initiative will guarantee our species' survival in another galaxy. If the Reapers cannot be defeated, they must be evaded." Janiri explained. She paused for a moment, before smirking a bit wider, "What is the Crucible?"

Liara felt her heart stop once more in her chest at the question. How the hell did she know about that? Was the organization intercepting her messages? Or, perhaps the GoA held recruits and members in many different species…

"Well?"

Liara hesitated. Sure, they may claim to be against the Reapers, but… Could she really tell them? "The Crucible… is a theoretical answer to the Reapers. A device that is proposed to exist to defeat the Reapers, possibly created by the Protheans."

"It wasn't designed by the Protheans, but I thank you for your honesty. Now, your turn."

Liara shook her head, "My question... Who is included in your membership? Species, important figures?"

"That's a lot of questions." She replied simply, "We have members in nearly all species across the galaxy, in every corner of society. As for specific members, you'd have to ask about them separately. But, I'll give you one name."

"Councilor Tevos?"

"No." Janiri answered immediately, before she asked her question in full seriousness, "Where are the plans for the Crucible?"

Liara froze for a moment after receiving the question. They know the plans for the device exist, but do not have the blueprints? That means that whoever Admiral Hackett has been very careful in his process of 'covertly uncovering the plans'. She couldn't just give up this information, especially with the way this organization... the so-called 'Guardians of Athame', seemed so dangerous and elusive. After all, according to Jordan, they'd kill anyone who asked questions or tried to investivagate them. It only took a moment to comprehend these points, before Liara finally answered.

"I refuse to answer that question." She said, causing the room to fall into silence.

"Is that your final answer, Doctor?" Janiri asked, her earlier smirk nowhere to be found, "There are no second chances, Doctor."

Liara narrowed her eyes, "I have answered honestly so far, but I will not answer that question."

"We do not need to be enemies, T'Soni. We can be invaluable allies in this conflict. We've been searching for these plans for centuries, and you know where they are. Would you really doom this galaxy because you can't trust us?"

"Forgive me for being cautious, but up until thirty minutes ago, I did not even know you existed."

"Fair enough…" Janiri said, standing up, "We are not enemies, but we are neither allies, Doctor T'Soni. I had hoped for better, but had feared far worse... We will be in touch." She said, turning to leave, but stopping by the doorway, turning back toward Liara, who'd remained seated.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you played along for so long with us. So, I'll give you a piece of information that you may appreciate… Trebakur Dozk is on Zeithea." She said, confusing Liara.

"Are those names supposed to mean something to me?"

"Maybe not to you, but it meant something to the previous Broker… and it probably means something to Spectre Vasir. Do some research, Doctor, and don't forget our generosity." She told her, "That is all."

And with that, the unnamed asari, known only as Janiri, left the office. Alone with only her thought, Liara began diving into her records, attempting to make sense of what she'd just been given. Things were being set into motion, and Liara now had no idea where things would go from here.

* * *

**Broker Preliminary Report:**

**_ The Guardians of Athame _ **

This mysterious organization is puzzling, and very little is known about them. What little is known, raises many questions. They have existed since before the Asari established contact with the Salarians, this is certain. This organization also seems to bear some kind of connection to the Asari's monotheistic religion based on Athame's Doctrine. The name makes that obvious, but the representative, known only as "Janiri" is the same name as one of Athame's advisors in the mythology.

They acknowledge the existence of the Reapers, and seem to have the survival and/or defeat of the Reapers as their primary purpose. Originally, they founded the Shadow Broker, before the mantle was taken by another, and left their grasp. For unknown reasons, they did not attempt to retake the position, and left the Shadow Broker to his own devices. Based on the Broker's archives, the Broker either did not know of the GoA's existence, or he kept the information off the record for, once again, unknown reasons.

They are interested in the Avatars, specifically their supposed foreknowledge. They also are increasingly interested in the Crucible, though their true colors are yet to be known. They attempted to appear benevolent and generous, but this was likely a farce. To what end, I do not know. More data is needed.

* * *

**Broker Data Search:**

**[Zeithea]**

_Zeithea is an uncharted, uninteresting planet in the Titan Nebula, off the beaten path of exploration in said nebula. Located barely within the habitable zone, and sized as an average garden world, the rocky planet very well might have supported diverse life in the distant past within the system of Cof. At night, the planet reaches beyond freezing temperatures, and occasionally barely reaches 0 degrees Celsius during summer mid-days, allowing certain locations across the equator to thaw yearly. A breathable atmosphere, yet desert-filled environment, the only living creatures on Zeithea are Thresher Maws, some grasses, and several species of bacteria. The atmosphere is breathable, but it known for spikes in toxic gases within its atmosphere at seemingly random times, making colonization ill-advised._

**_Broker Side-Note:_ ** _Quarterly shipments are sent to the planet at the behest of the Broker. How this was overlooked remains a mystery, though it is done through automatic and quietly secretive channels. Something is there, yet the Broker archives make no mention of anything of value being there. Although, to be fair, there is no mention of Hagalaz within the archives._

* * *

**Broker Data Search:**

**[Trebakur Dozk]**

_Trebukar Dozk is a Krogan Warlord, known for his brutality, ruthlessness, and efficiency. An exceedingly loyal Broker Agent, he is also known as one of the few Krogan snipers in existence. Trained with almost every weapon imaginable, he prefers close-combat like most Krogan, yet can still easily hit his mark from over a kilometer away. Unlike other Krogan as well, he is well versed in tactics and stealth, making him exceptionally deadly. It is rumored that he can control his bloodrage, remaining fully coherent went entering such a state, making him an increasingly dangerous foe, and powerful ally.  
_

**_Feats Accomplished:_ **

_-Successfully eliminated four confirmed members of the League of One after they had gone into hiding._

_-Assassinated the Turian Primarch several centuries ago._

_-Introduced the Krogan and Blood Pack to the Vorcha._

**Broker Side-Note:** _Has been used previously to keep other, less loyal Shadow Broker agents in line. Has gone into hiding several decades ago, his whereabouts kept off the record. When compared to Spectre Vasir's records, there has been previous encounters and violent engagements between the two of them. It is possible he is responsible for the murder and assassination of Hialus Vasir._

* * *

**Sending encrypted message to Jordan Sower…**

**Message sent.**

**Message content:**

_Tell Shepard to return to Illium ASAP. Broker emergency. Must speak in person. Bring only people you trust and who know the truth._

_-S.B._


	43. Chapter 37: Tela: Vengeful Spectre

**Chapter 37: Tela: Vengeful Spectre**

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, entering Zeithea's Atmosphere, Shuttle.**

**April 1st, 2185. 4:12 am. EST**

The shuttle was silent as it descended through Zeithea's atmosphere. Tela Vasir sat silently, her eyes closed with a scowl on her face as she imagined what she'd do to Trebakur Dozk once she got her hands on him. Jordan leaned back in his seat against the shuttle's wall as he looked at Tela Vasir with worry. Standing beside one another nearby were the other two members of the mission: Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian, both of whom were also silent, thinking on the events that had transpired only recently.

After Jordan had gone to Shepard with the message from Liara, the Spectre immediately set course to Illium with haste, directing Joker to "do as he pleased to get them there as soon as possible". With the get-out-of-jail-free card freely given, Joker proceeded to get them to Illium in record time. Upon landing, several things occurred that immediately set off alarms in Shepard's head.

Upon landing, several Geth Troopers immediately surrounded the Normandy in the docks, and prevented anyone and everyone that wasn't a Broker Agent within 100 meters of the Normandy and her dock. Upon leaving the Normandy, Shepard and his select crew were guarded by four Broker Agents of various species, as well as at least ten cloaked Geth Hunters, at least according to Jordan and Tali. Finally, they were all promptly escorted to Liara's office, but not before being thoroughly scanned by two Geth for bugs or any such devices.

Accompanying Shepard, as per Liara's request, were Jordan, Tela, Tali, Garrus, and Ashley, which was met with disfavor by Miranda, since Shepard elected not to share any information with her upon her request. After all, no one else needed or should know about Liara being the Shadow Broker, especially Cerberus.

Once in the office, Liara got down to business, and informed them of a location of interest. A backwater, out-of-the-way planet in the Titan Nebula named Zeithea. The planet seemingly contained a top-secret Shadow Broker base, with untold items and information of interest. Or, at least, it seemed that way with how little information there was about it in the Broker database.

She'd talked about a meeting with someone by the codename of Janiri, and how she represented an organization that seemed to be fighting against the Reapers, and had known about them far longer than any of them have. She did not mention the information about her calling them out, but did say the organization known now as the Guardians of Athame were funding the Andromeda Initiative as a last resort escape from the Reapers.

Finally, she also mentioned the information given about the planet and Trebakur Dozk, who may or may not have been the one who killed Tela's little sister a long time ago. Given the nature of who was there having connections with Tela, and the fact that important items and info may be there for both Shepard and the Broker, they reasoned that a mission should be conducted to the planet.

However, Liara was not stupid, as she had come to two conclusions: One, that the information was given to her by 'Janiri' for a specific purpose, so they needed to be swift and careful. Two, seeing as this was an off-the-books Broker location, she needed to prepare them accordingly.

Liara provided identification codes to Shepard, which should allow them to get close, maybe even land at the base, without any alarms going off or retaliation. She also told them they should act the part of Broker agents, since they wanted to try to get everything they could without losing any data. After all, after looking into less off-the-books locations with the Broker, she discovered many of them had the instructions that if non-Broker personnel discovered the base, they were to wipe all data and blow the place up. That was to be avoided here, as who knew what they were hiding?

After the meeting, they were promptly escorted back to the Normandy, passing by a group of three young Asari being apprehended by Broker personnel for getting too close to the Normandy. Once back on the ship, with the coordinates and codes obtained, they quickly made their way to Zeithea.

They'd informed the crew that Tela Vasir, after conversing with Liara, had discovered an old enemy in the Terminus Systems that she needed to deal with. Another 'Loyalty mission', as they were beginning to call them, so many didn't really see anything wrong with the new course, other than a few complaining about the delay for shore leave. The six of them concluded that they should send Tela, Shepard, and Garrus down to the surface for the mission, but due to Jordan and Tela's insistence, Jordan was added to the roster once more for this mission.

And that brought them here, ready to see what kind of secrets the Shadow Broker had hidden away here… and, for a certain Asari, hopefully she'd find closure after disposing of her sister's murderer. As the Normandy hung around, cloaked in orbit, the group of four continued to descend, each lost in their own minds as they mentally prepared for what may come.

Everyone was shaken from their thoughts when the shuttle rocked as it touched down on the provided landing pad.

Show time.

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, External Landing Pad.**

**April 1st, 2185. 4:48 am. EST**

Shepard and Tela stepped off of the shuttle together, both leading the way of the group as they walked toward the end of the landing pad. The sun of cof was high in the sky, and the temperature was a few degrees below freezing, some of the warmest on the planet at the moment. There to meet them was a small group of Broker Agents: One unmasked turian with red face paint, two masked salarians, and two masked batarians, all of which wearing full, advanced armor with the Broker emblem. All of them armed, but none pointing their weapons at the group of four.

The turian seemed to be the de facto leader, at least right here and now, and stood before them. His eyes jumped across the two humans, single turian, and single asari, his eyes remained on Tela for a moment longer than the rest of them, including Shepard.

Now only a few steps away from one another, the groups stopped as the turian spoke.

"I must say, I was surprised the Broker would send another team here." He told them, "May I ask why the Broker has deemed to send such a group here, and what purpose you have?"

Shepard replied, "We both know the Shadow Broker works in mysterious ways. We aren't all granted with the privilege of knowing his motives."

The turian chuckled dryly, "Yes, I can agree with you on that, human." He shook his head as his mandibles twitched lightly, "Still, you must have a reason for being here. The Broker would never send an agent into the field without some purpose… unless he has sent you here to die?" He asked with some humor in his inflections, though if one looked closely enough, they could see dead seriousness in his eyes.

Tela Vasir took it from there, "It has been some time since an outside inspection, Agent…"

"Bravo." He answered simply, choosing to use his codename, rather than his actual one.

"Agent Bravo. The Broker saw fit to assign us to check on the status of the compound. There have been many standard cycles since formal contact with your outpost." She told them

Agent Bravo nodded, "It has, indeed. I was afraid the Broker had abandoned us to our task, only seeing fit to send occasional supplies. It appears our fears were irrational." Suddenly, the Turian's omni-tool flashed to life, playing a small alarm.

Jordan could feel his heart skip a beat in fear, but otherwise showed no visible discomfort. Had they been found out already? He assumed that his teammates felt the same, but didn't voice such a thought.

Agent Bravo frowned, "Dammit, another toxin bloom…" He said, "Apologies, I was under the assumption that the next toxin bloom would not be occurring for another few days. Please, follow me inside. It will become hard to breathe out here without your helmets in a few minutes. It would be best to continue talking inside anyway."

With their fears put at ease, the Normandy squad nodded and followed the five Broker Agents, entering the small external structure that served as an elevator, and descended deep into the hidden, underground compound on Zeithea.

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, Broker Base.**

**April 1st, 2185. 4:53 am. EST**

The elevator continued its descent in relative silence, with no one from either party willing to fill the silence. After a moment, Agent Bravo spoke.

"I must admit, I am surprised two highly esteemed Spectres are working under the Broker." He said matter-of-factly.

Tela responded, "The Shadow Broker knows no limits when it comes to allies and information."

The turian enemy chuckled dryly, "If only it were as true as we wished…"

With that, the elevator fell into silence once more. It continued like this for another few minutes, before it slowly ground to a halt. The doors opened, revealing a large room filled with crates and boxes of supplies, all somewhat organized according to use.

As they stepped out, the four newcomers discreetly looked around the room. To their left was a single doorway, marked helpfully with a holographic 'Emergency Exit' sign above it. To their immediate right were large crates stacked to the ceiling against the wall. Straight ahead was a series of three doors, all leading to likely different places. The room itself had a ceiling roughly two to three stories in height. Thanks to combat and videogame experience, Jordan noted the placement of boxes and crates would serve well as cover in the event of a firefight.

There were an additional ten Broker agents visible upon exiting the elevator. Four appeared to be asari, four appeared to be turians, and the final two appeared to be humans, but could have been batarians thanks to the helmets obscuring their faces.

Agent Bravo cleared his throat to get the team's attention.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I must verify that you have, indeed, been sent by the Broker." He told them, "Do you mind if I ask you a question, Spectre Shepard?"

If Shepard was surprised by the question, he did not let it show, "Of course, Agent Bravo. What is your question?"

"Oh, it is a simple one, really…" He said with a shrug, before voicing his question.

"Who was the first Broker?"

Jordan, Tela, Shepard, and Garrus immediately felt their hearts skip a beat. Their hesitation was their downfall, as the fourteen other agents all raised their weapons at the four of them. In a panic, Jordan quickly sputtered out an answer.

"It was a salarian!" He blurted out.

Of course, that was always Jordan's head canon, that the previous Broker was a Salarian. Though, the previous Broker wasn't necessarily the original Broker. But, since the Yahg was taken as a pet, it seemed plausible that it was a salarian before him, and possibly even before that. Unfortunately, it was still a guess, and he was soon to see if he was right or not. He could almost feel the stares and/or glares from his teammates. Boy oh boy, was this not good…

The Turian suddenly laughed, before pointing a talon at Jordan, "You, kid, that was a great answer." He told him, "Unfortunately, that is incorrect…"

Agent Bravo's omni-tool came to life as he pressed a few keys, connecting himself to someone else, who was likely within the base as well, "The Broker has fallen. Athame has made her move." He said cryptically, before he returned his attention to the intruders. "I must say, I never thought I'd see the day that the legendary Guardians of Athame would visit my humble base…" He said, sarcasm clear in his tone.

Shortly after he spoke into his omni-tool, Jordan mentally intercepted a wireless message, which was certainly not a good thing.

**_'Emergency Upload Initiated. Time until complete: 10 minutes.'_ **

The Turian wasn't having them killed because he was trying to buy time. He probably believed that the moment they were attacked, reinforcements would try to storm the base… He seemingly assumed they were part of the Guardians of Athame. Jordan would allow him to think he still had control of the situation, before he tried to signal Tela or Shepard. Instead, he began to record the conversation with a single mental command, before devoting all of his attention to hindering the upload and giving them more time.

Shepard, too, seemed to notice the lack of an attack, and spoke up to respond, "I believe you have us confused for someone else." He tried, "Contact the Broker, he'll reaffirm this course of action."

The turian chuckled dryly once more, "Do not think me a fool, Guardian. We know you've replaced the Yahg." He told them, "And, if you were curious about the correct answer to my question, it was you. You were the answer. You controlled the Broker, before he broke free and took your information empire away from you." He said with a toothy grin, a crazed fire in his eye. Suddenly, a gruff voice cut them both off as a new individual approached.

A large krogan approached the group, adorned in pitch-black armor, and whose size was slightly larger than Wrex's. The newcomer held a large hammer-like weapon in his left hand as his mouth was in the shape of a smirk, "Enough freebies, Slyneus." He said, "The pyjacks knows this already, why waste your breath for such a foolish task?"

Tela's eyes narrowed as she began to grit her teeth, "Dozk…" She basically spat.

The krogan's eyes narrowed at hers, "It's Trebakur Dozk to you, little girl…" He growled back, before his eyes relaxed slightly, "Wait a moment… Agent Tela Vasir…" He said in amazement, before somehow letting out a whistle, "Damn… it has been… what, a hundred years since we've seen each other?"

"Sixty-eight years." She replied easily, "I haven't been anywhere near you since the day you took my world from me…" She told him, in a deadly calm tone.

Dozk simply shrugged, shaking his head, "I have no idea what you're…" He stopped mid-motion before a smirk reappeared on his face and his eyes lit up with recognition, "Oh… I see… you're talking about your sister… Hialus Vasir…"

A low growl erupted from her throat, "Don't you say her damn name…" She growled at him.

He let out a low chuckle, "I remember now. You were set up to snipe her from afar, but realized who she was before pulling the trigger. You sent a warning shot, attempting to incite fear in the crowd and let her escape…" His smirk became malicious, "Before I put a bullet through her brain."

Shepard caught Tela's arm as she attempted to take a step forward. Her eyes were burning brightly as biotics rippled across her body. All drawn weapons turned to focus on Tela, marking her the biggest threat in the room. "Stop Tela, not yet." He whispered, attempting to appease the vengeful woman.

She stopped attempting to get out of the grasp as Shepard spoke, attempting to get more information, since he's mostly out of the loop on some of Tela's information. During the voyage from Illium, he'd talked with Tela a bit, but she'd barely mentioned the leadup to her sister's death. "Why'd you do it, Dozk?"

His reptilian eyes darted to Shepard's, "Ahhh, Commander Shepard… To answer your question, it was simply business. Tela had an arrangement with the Broker, and she tried to double-cross him… I was simply there to show her why doing so wasn't such a good idea."

"You lying reptile…" Tela growled out, "I had done nothing of the sort!"

"Ahh, but you were probably considering it." He replied back with a smirk, "How many times had you considered double-crossing him in the century following your sister's sad death? Well… actually, I'm sure it was still at least once, if we're both standing here today…"

As Jordan worked, he made his move, silently sending a message to Garrus' eyepiece. Garrus' eye scanned it quickly, reading the message yet showing no outward signs of receiving or reading such a message. **_'The base is attempting to be rid of the data. I'm slowing them down, but they'll be onto me soon.'_**

Garrus let out a turian cough, nudging Shepard very slightly, looking as if it were an accidental twitch or nudge. However, Shepard caught the hidden message. 'Something was going wrong, and they needed to act soon.' Shepard shrugged as a hidden response, acknowledging the silent message.

Tela, too, heard the cough and saw Shepard shrug, correctly deducing that something was bound to happen soon, so she mentally prepared herself for action. Keeping the conversation going, Shepard spoke again.

"What's the importance of the base, here?" He asked.

The turian seemed about to answer, before he was shoved back by Dozk, "Don't you open your mouth, unless you're doing so only to tell me you wish to die." He 'politely told' his underling. After doing so, he turned toward Shepard, "Excuse the damn turian, no good, the lot of 'em. I'm sorry Commander, but I'm afraid that we will not be giving up our information so easily. If anything, this base is worthlessly unimportant." He said with a grin.

Attempting to antagonize the Krogan a bit and trying to get more information out of him, Shepard tried a less neutral and more renegade approach to the opponent, "So, we have a krogan hiding out on a backwater world, too afraid of little Miss Vasir to actually be doing something worthwhile? I've met Krogan from a test-tube tougher than you."

Dozk began to growl as his eyes narrowed dangerously at the human Spectre, "Watch what you say, Shepard. My work here is far more important than some measly krogan pride."

"Is that what the Broker told you when he assigned you to this shithole?" He pressed harder, slightly alarming the surrounding individuals on both sides.

A flame almost seemed to dance within the old Krogan's eyes as sheer hatred radiated off of him, "You insignificant pyjack, I will not have some Athame shit talk to me like that! You will all get what you deserve soon enough, so wait in line as we tear your world down and burn it to ash!" He growled at them, "You can go and run from the Reapers all you want, but we both know you're only cowards, just like the salarians!"

"And what's wrong with the Guardians of Athame? They're fighting the Reapers, all you're doing is hiding!" Shepard continued to press him.

"I'll have you know…" Suddenly, the krogan's omni-tool came to life, interrupting him aloud, _"Dozk, we have a problem."_

The opposing krogan suddenly became serious, glaring down at the omni-tool, "What do you mean we have a problem."

"We're being locally hacked. One of the intruders is actively slowing the upload." The krogan's head darted back up and his eyes narrowed as he scanned the four intruders. Time seemed to go into slow-motion. Jordan could almost visualize a paragon interrupt option appearing, or, more appropriate in this scenario, a renegade interrupt. Obviously, this course of action must have been taken, because…

Shepard suddenly flew into motion, grabbing his sidearm in a single, fluid motion as he shot the nearest Broker Agent in the head before they could activate their shields. Not to be outdone, Vasir's entire body flared up and glowed blue as she proceeded to launch a shockwave towards Dozk, only for him to only slightly falter and take half a step back. Unfortunately for the other enemies, he didn't stop the shockwave, as it continued past. Several were thrown in different directions, while two were crushed by a large crate being pushed off of another, falling onto them.

Garrus wasted no time getting into action, dashing behind another crate and using it for cover as he picked off one or two different enemies on top of a few crates, using them to achieve a higher ground then the team. Jordan, himself, spared a moment to throw an overload as he dove into cover, continuing to devote most of his concentration on slowing down whatever it was they were doing.

Tela biotically charged into Dozk, who narrowly rolled to the side, dodging the biotic blow, only to swing his hammer into Tela and flinging her several meters away. With that, Dozk began to do something Shepard had never seen a Krogan do before… He retreated, running away from the firefight as he called into his omni-tool, "Finish the upload, I'll blow the station!" He yelled aloud, before throwing himself through a door. The second it closed, a huge dent appeared on the doors from the other side as he slammed his krogan hammer into the door and mechanism, forcing it closed.

Tela, now back on her feet, open fired with her shotgun, "The bastard's getting away!"

"Focus on the fight, Vasir!" Shepard called back, throwing a grenade toward a crate being used as cover by the enemies. The moment they dove out of cover, the three of them shredded them to bits with bullet fire.

It only took a moment longer, before the last of the enemies in the large cargo bay were wiped out, leaving the room in relative silence. Shepard looked around and called out, "Sower!"

"Here, boss!" He called back, rising from his hiding spot. He saw Tela and Shepard looking at him expectantly, silently asking him why he didn't help much in the previous firefight. Garrus, however, understood and didn't seem as curious. Though, then again, turian faces are kinda hard to read sometimes.

"What happened?"

"They initiated some sort of upload, possibly sending the data to another source before wiping here." Jordan told them, "I've been trying to stop the upload, but have only managed to delay them. I'm good now, but I estimate about another 10 minutes before my invasive programs are terminated, and a further 10 before they achieve the upload."

Shepard sighed, shaking his head, "So we have, more-or-less, twenty minutes before the data is gone? Great…"

"Shepard, Dozk said he was heading to blow up the station." Garrus reminded him, "It doesn't matter if we get the data if we're all dead."

"And we can't just let him get away. Knowing Dozk, he'll put the station at critical before escaping…" Tela remarked.

Shepard sighed again. He really didn't want to, but seeing as how things were, and how little time they had left, he had little other choice. "Alright, we'll split up. Jordan, Garrus, you two are our tech experts, here. You two proceed to the data vault and collect the information stored here. Vasir and I will pursue Trebakur Dozk, stop him from destroying the place, and prevent his escape. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Yes."

"Let's go!" Tela said with a dark smile, "I'm ready!"

And with that, the party of four split up.

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, Broker Base, En-Route to Station Reactor.**

**April 1st, 2185. 5:03 am. EST.**

**[19 Minutes before Upload.]**

Tela Vasir and Commander John Shepard continued forward after the former took a moment to biotically blast the doors open. It didn't take long, but it was inconvenient enough to cost them a moment, which allowed Dozk to get ever further away.

They began running down a hallway, keeping a good pace until a side door opened up, allowing three Broker Agents into the Hall to open fire upon them. Flawlessly, Tela biotically charged into the closest opponent, followed closely by a shotgun blast to his or her chest, killing them as their dead body flew and hit the agent behind them, knocking the second person to the ground. Still rippling with biotics, Tela threw a hard punch toward the remaining Agent standing, killing him before any of them could get a single shot off. Shepard, meanwhile, simply fired a burst of gunfire into the still living agent who was knocked down, killing him.

With the enemies taken care of, Tela quickly continued down the hallway, followed closely by Shepard. He decided to take this moment to speak with her. "So, you really hate Dozk, don't you?"

"Of course, he killed my sister." She replied neutrally without facing Shepard.

"The two of you must have been close." He remarked.

Tela let out a sigh as they continued, "We were… After our parents died, it was just the two of us. I'd use most of the credits I'd earned from being a Commando to fund her studies…" Her neutral expression turned to a sad smile, "She wanted to be Surgeon… I was so proud of her when she obtained her first doctorate…"

"A surgeon? What type?"

"Critical care. She'd often joke that if she studied hard enough, she could 'patch up those bad guys and save their lives to stand trial'. I'd normally respond with 'Hey, I'm paid to stop bad guys, I can't afford to be careful and precise like you can.' We'd laugh…"

"I'm sorry for your loss…"

"Yeah… As a Commando, and as a Spectre, I've seen my fair share of darkness, Shepard. She was the only shining ray of sunshine I had in my life…" She paused and looked fully toward Shepard, locking eyes with the other Spectre, "That is why I'm telling you right now, Shepard, nothing you say or do will be able to stop me from avenging my sister. And… I'm truly thankful that you and the others are here to help me."

"Of course, Tela." Shepard reassured her, "Now, let's go get this bastard!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" She replied, double-timing it down the hallway toward the upcoming large chamber.

Together the two of them proceeded down the hallway for another moment before eventually reaching the end. A sealed door greeted the two Spectres at the end of the hall, which only stood tall and proud for a moment, before it was blasted off of its hinges by a biotic blast courtesy of Tela.

Entering through the broken doorway, it revealed a large chamber filled with enemies. It was over two stories in height, allowing a secondary level consisting of walkways, connecting to the lower level via several staircases. The lower level appeared to be some sort of training room, consisting of several machines and plenty of metal containers serving as makeshift cover. Over a dozen agents were aiming their weapons up at the two of them from the lower level, as an additional half-dozen or so standing on the upper level with their weapons trained on them. Agent Bravo stood amongst the upper-level agents, seemingly having fled when the fighting started in the cargo hold.

"Stand down, Athame." Agent Bravo called out, "If you surrender, we may spare your lives."

"Bullshit." Tela whispered quietly to Shepard, "The moment we holster our weapons, they'll fire at us. The Broker takes no prisoners at these types of places." She informed him.

"How about another deal?" Shepard asked him, "You know who I am, and I can assure you that I'm no Guardian of Athame… If you step aside, I might let you live instead…"

Looking out over the many potential opponents, the two Spectres could practically feel their unease. Most, if not all, of the agents knew who Shepard was, and his reputation precedes him. The same could be said for Tela… and now, the two most infamous living Spectres were here, together, as their enemies.

"Hah, you expect us to believe you aren't Guardians?" The turian agent asked incredulously. "We cannot be fooled, Spectre. Only a Guardian would come here for our data."

Tela took half a step forward, drawing everyone's attention, "If I must, I will paint this compound with your blood, but my target is the coward beyond those doors!" She announced, pointing toward the only other exit from the room on the other side, where Dozk likely fled through.

"Be it as it may, we will not allow you to pass. You Guardians have finally made your move… so now, we shall make ours." Bravo informed them, "Though, I am curious as to why you four were the only ones to attack. We've seen no signs of your reinforcements. Are you, perhaps, some new recruits in over your heads?" He asked rhetorically as he began to pace back and forth as he spoke, "Regardless, you've acted against the Broker, and now, if our empire is to fall, then so shall yours."

"Jezz, he really does spill all their secrets, doesn't he?" Tela whispered in a condescending tone toward Shepard. He had to admit, this agent wasn't so bright. He was giving them far too much information for free… So why was he doing this? This is supposed to be a top-secret, incredibly important outpost…

"He's stalling." Shepard whispered back as he also came to the spoken conclusion. "Can your charge reach Bravo?"

"He's just out of range, but the guy to his left is possible." Tela quietly remarked.

"When I give the signal, charge him, and take out Bravo. Hopefully the loss of Bravo will make taking these guys down that much easier." Shepard told her.

"Got it. I'm ready." She informed him, as they returned their attention to the Turian agent.

"And what could you possibly do?" Shepard asked aloud, directing his question towards Agent Bravo. "This compound is so remote; you couldn't possibly survive a full assault. And last I check, your attempts at deleting the data have failed."

Agent Bravo shook his head, "We're not deleting the data, what would be the purpose of doing that? It would only further bury your secrets… No, we're uploading it… putting your secrets all over the extranet!" He exclaimed with a smile, "Soon, everyone, even your hated Council of Matriarchs will know every last one of your dirty secrets…"

Shepard inwardly laughed. Now they knew what this base seemed to hold and what was happening. It appears this secret compound held gathered information and blackmail against the Guardians of Athame, and once the Guardians acted against the Broker, they'd upload the data about them for everyone to see. It actually sounded quite smart on the Broker's part: Having a secret base filled with their secrets, ready to spill their secrets at a moment's notice.

However, they didn't count on Jordan's ability to slow them down. Nor did they expect Liara's resourcefulness, or the intel…

Shepard paled. The Guardians of Athame knew this location existed, since they had given the data about it to Liara. Liara, being resourceful, sent Shepard, Tela, and Jordan here to get whatever data was here and kill Tela's sister's murderer. These unique skills… the Guardians of Athame didn't have this, so they gave Liara the information…

"This is a set-up." Shepard realized, whispering to Tela, "The Guardians of Athame leaked information about this place to Liara, since they couldn't touch this place without being exposed. We're doing the dirty work, meaning that the Guardians are likely on their way here, now…" He explained quickly. "We need to get the data and leave, ASAP."

Shepard shook his head and focused on Agent Bravo. The agent was still pacing, meaning that the moment he turned his back to them again would be the best opportunity to strike.

"As if we have anything to hide…" Shepard said, giving up on convincing him otherwise. As expected, Agent Bravo stifled a laugh and scoffed, turning around as he continued pacing.

"HA! We know everything about you, and soon enough, everyone will know-"

His thoughts were interrupted by Shepard grabbing a grenade and tossing down a floor, over the rail, detonating on impact with the unlucky agent standing nearby. The moment he made his move, Tela charged forward, flying over the heads of over a dozen agents before impacting the unshielded agent. Flying back from the momentum, Tela turned her attention to the surprised and shocked Agent Bravo.

"H-How…?"

"You shouldn't have gotten in the way of my target." She told him, before mercilessly unloading a round of her shotgun, point-blank into the turian's skull.

Focusing back on Shepard, he opened fired with his assault rifle as he ran to better cover, reaching the top of the nearest staircase to his left. His shots took out an additional agent while injuring a few others, before all of their shields powered on, and those not previously wearing helmets threw theirs on, protecting them. Utilizing an adrenaline shot, Shepard switched to his sniper, aiming for barely a moment before his shoulder lurched backwards, not a millisecond before one of the batarian agents on a lower level lost their head. Seeing two of them attempting to storm their way toward his staircase on the lower level, John launched a concussive blast between the two, sending them flying backwards and away from the stairs.

Switching quickly back to his rifle, Shepard fired a few rounds into the fallen agents, taking the two of them out quickly as he absentmindedly switched ammo to disruptor to make quicker work of their shields.

Back with Tela, after beheading Agent Bravo, she kicked his torso with her biotically enhanced leg, sending it flying into yet another agent, sending the body and the agent over the edge of the railing to the lower level. Soon enough, she could feel several shots hit her barriers, forcing the Spectre into cover as she cooled her shotgun down.

As her barriers and shotgun reestablished themselves back toward full strength, Tela stood up from cover, sending a shockwave towards the remaining three agents on the upper level. They didn't go flying thanks to their armor and shields, but ended up stumbling and ceasing fire for just a moment. Taking advantage of this, she charged into the center, hitting one agent hard. As soon as she landed though, instead of unloading, Tela unleashed a deadly, close-range Nova blast, instantly killing the unshielded charge target, and heavily damaging the other two agents.

From there, it was a simple two shots of her signature weapon to finish the pair off.

Shepard, after reloading his rifle, watched Tela charging a second time on the upper level as he fired a second concussive shot, actually killing an unshielded agent on the ground, who'd previously taken a few hits from his rifle. Switching to his shotgun once more, Shepard dove over the makeshift cover and began to fall from the second story. As planned, he landed atop one agent, severely injuring and incapacitating them as he entered a roll, only exiting as he fired his rifle toward the remaining enemies, forcing them to remain in cover.

As he ran forward to cover, Shepard took a moment to reach down, unholster his hand cannon, swing his arm back, fire a single shot into the injured enemy he landed on, killing him, and return the gun to his hip, all in one single fluid motion. Now in cover, he noticed Tela mopping up the last of the enemies up top.

"A little help, Vasir?" He called out as he reloaded.

Vasir smirked and nodded, jumping down to the lower level, enter and roll and exiting into a biotic shockwave. The remaining enemies, all in cover, were forced up and stumbling, exiting their singular saving grace. Together, the two Spectres made quick work of the remaining enemies, soon bathing the room in silence.

After a second spent catching their breath, Tela nodded towards the exit on the second floor, "C'mon, we're running out of time. The bastard's probably rigging the station to blow as we speak!"

Shepard nodded, "Lead the way." He told her, following the elder Spectre as they ran back up the stairs and towards the exit, ready to follow after Dozk and finish him. As they ran, Shepard activated his omni-tool, attempting to communicate with Jordan and Garrus, trying to update them on his revelations about the possible new dangers for the mission.

"Sower, Vakarian, do you read?!"

 _"A little busy here, Shepard."_ Sower answered back, _"But how may I help you?"_

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, Broker Base, En-Route to Data Vault.**

**April 1st, 2185. 5:04 am. EST.**

**[18 Minutes before Upload.]**

Jordan and Garrus had just finished walking down a short hallway and up a flight of stairs, before they reached a sealed door. Together, the two of them only took just a moment to hack through the automated lock and open the door, revealing what appeared to be a breakroom-styled area, complete with a few couches, a large table, a refrigerator, and other cooking tools.

Sitting there with their back turned toward them was an asari reading a data pad, wearing Broker Agent armor, yet no helmet. She must have heard the door open, but didn't seem to care as she continued reading whatever it was that seemed to have enthralled her. She spoke aloud without looking at the pair.

"About time… Care to do something about the stupid alarm? Damn thing's acting up again…" She said, motioning toward what appeared to be a biotically crushed speaker in the top corner of the room. Jordan and Garrus looked at one another, attempting to discern whether this was real or not. Jordan raised an eyebrow, to which Garrus simply shrugged.

Deciding more information of what laid ahead would be helpful, Jordan motioned with his head toward Garrus' gun and the asari. Garrus raised his rifle in understanding, and aimed it at the back of her head, ready to blow it off in an instant. Stalking forward, Jordan attempted to speak to her.

"Yeah, you know how it is. Nothing's normally fixed until something else breaks, too." Jordan said, now almost directly behind the woman. His hand cannon now rests less than an inch from the back of her head.

The asari, none-the-wiser, laughed, and shook her head, "Don't I know it. Figured without all the bureaucracy that this shit wouldn't happen out here… guess you can't escape the bullshit, eh?"

Jordan smiled, "Don't I know it…" Jordan paused for a moment, "If you don't mind me asking, how many people are on patrol beyond this room, and what kind of security are we expected to face?"

The Asari shook her head and started turning around, "And why the hell are you asking m-"

She cut herself off as Jordan moved the barrel of his gun against the back of her head, her eyes indefinitely widening.

"Y-you're not maintenance…" She stated simply, clearly trying to remain calm despite being caught completely off-guard.

"No. And if you want to live long enough to leave, you'll answer my questions…" Jordan said coldly.

"Y-you're the Guardians of A-Athame… I thought you were just a myth… that the Broker was being paranoid…" She said nervously, "P-please, I don't know anything, I'm just their medic. I don't know anything other than their health history, I swear, please don't kill me…"

Garrus growled from behind her, "Answer the questions."

"Ok! Ok…" She quickly answered, "The Barracks are beyond this room, followed by a security checkpoint. Most of the agents were at the training range or cargo bay earlier, so the Barracks should be mostly empty." She told them.

"Where's the data vault?"

"Beyond the security checkpoint, which is guarded by an average of ten agents at a time." She quickly answered, "The vault, itself, is supposed to be unhackable, and has three trained engineers within, managing the data and updating the software, so they're probably still there."

"Any other security measures?" Jordan asked, pressing the barrel of the gun harder against the asari's head.

"Th-the Vault is equipped with advanced turrets on the outside. They're shielded and considered biotic-proof. Rumor has it that they're almost as powerful as the Alliance's Mako cannon…"

"Anything else?" Garrus asked.

"M-my biotic teacher, she'd taught me everything I know about my biotics… she's more powerful than the average Commando. She normally serves guard outside the vault, but sometimes she's inside as a last-resort defense against the data." She blurted out after only hesitating for a moment, "Please, don't kill me…"

Jordan thought about the consequences, here. If she lived, she could alert the enemy, but if he killed her, an unarmed enemy who surrendered without resistance… He sighed, pulling his gun back, away from her head but still aimed toward her. As he did so, she slowly turned around, shocked that she was still alive.

The asari looked at the two of them, "Y-you're not going to kill me?" She asked, her eyes darting between Garrus and Jordan. Garrus seemed hesitant, but didn't move to kill her.

"You kept up your end of the deal…" Garrus ended up saying.

"You two… I'd heard the Guardians wouldn't hesitate to kill us… They said that they leave no survivors who know who they are…" She said.

"We're not the Guardians, ma'am." Jordan answered, "We're just here to take care of someone and get the data."

Garrus spoke up, "This is great and all, but what are we going to do about her?" He said, "We can't take her with us, and she could easily run off."

Jordan nodded and thought for a moment before smiling, reaching back into a pocket on the inside of his armor, before pulling out a pair of omni-cuffs, "We'll cuff her here, and grab her on the way out. We can figure out what to do from there. And if she escapes and tries to run away, Joker will shoot her down if she finds a ship, or she'll be stuck on this deserted ice ball." He reasoned.

Garrus looked questioningly at the pair of omni-cuffs Jordan had seemed to pull out of thin air, "And how on Palavan did you come across a pair of omni-cuffs?" He asked, critically eyeing the pair and noticing the C-Sec Logo in the center of it.

Jordan shrugged, "Hey, they locked me in them enough times, figured I'd take a pair as a souvenir."

Garrus sighed but didn't say anything else about it. After a few moments, they locked the asari agent up against the wall. Jordan took a moment to speak to her before the pair of Normandy Crew left.

"If we find out you lied to us, or you try to escape, you will be trapped here for the rest of your life, however short it is. If you stay put and you told us the truth, we'll take you with us. Perhaps the Broker will have a better use for you." He remarked. She remained silent, but nodded.

Jordan then turned back toward Garrus, "Alright, we've wasted enough time, let's go."

"Right behind you." He told him, before the pair proceeded through the next door and down the small hallway. It took almost no time at all to travel the length of the hall, before they reached the next room. Nodding to one another, they both entered with assault rifles raised, since Garrus swapped his weapon.

Entering the Barracks, Jordan and Garrus discovered that the asari had told the truth, as the entire room was deserted, yet filled with messy beds, opened lockers, and personal belongings everywhere.

"Guess she was right…" Garrus remarked, not letting his guard down as he swept over the room with his weapon ready. Jordan, likewise, did not lower his guard as he checked out the surroundings.

"Yeah… and beyond here is the welcoming committee… think they thought it was a false alarm, too?" Jordan asked, hope in his question despite knowing the most likely answer.

"Hmmmm I doubt it." Garrus remarked, "It sounded like the asari isn't used to being on any kind of duty beyond a medical role."

"So they're probably waiting for us, huh?"

"Probably."

"Then we're going to need a plan before we open the door." Jordan said, motioning towards the exit on the other side.

"And I assume you have one…"

Jordan paused for a moment, lowering his weapon but keeping it close to him in case something occurred. "I think I have something…" He said after a moment, "But I'm going to have to borrow some of these guys' stuff, and… how accurate are you at throwing your overload, and does your eye-piece have thermal?" Jordan asked as he looked around.

Garrus shrugged, "Not as accurate as my rifle, but I can hit any target in visible range, just about. As for my vision, I can set it for thermal, though I tend to keep it on normal-enhanced. Why?"

Jordan smiled, as he spotted some items of use nearby and grabbed them, "I'm going to jury-rig a smoke bomb, but I won't have a way to set it off." He informed him as he grabbed a few devices and activated his omni-blade and heating it up with his omni-tool, using the generated heat to melt some glue and combine the items haphazardly, "However, if you can hit it with an overload…" Jordan continued, before switching using the omni-blade to poke a few holes into the jury-rigged device and using his omni-tool to ruin the digital aspects of it. After a moment, he held up the 'masterpiece', "… it should send off a small-explosion, and generate a large cloud of smoke."

Garrus' eyes flew over the device Jordan just pieced together, appraising it for a moment before nodding, "I think this'll work. The smoke will only last a few seconds, though…"

Jordan sighed, "It'll still give us an opportunity to do some damage and give us an advantage."

Garrus shook his head, "I'm not saying it's a bad idea. Hell, this is the best we have without Shepard's Rocket Launcher… It's just… we need to make those seconds count."

Jordan nodded, "Agreed. Now, are you ready?"

"Of course. Let's do this."

Together and finally prepared to make their move, Jordan and Garrus had their weapons at the ready as they approached the doorway. As they were ready to get in there, Garrus realized something. "Hey, Jordan… about those cannons on the vault she mentioned…" He said, ending his sentence right there, as his point was clearly across.

Jordan nodded and closed his eyes, "I'm trying to get a read on them, but I can't access them indirectly. Though, it appears they only operate under manual control. As long as we stop them from controlling it, and we finish this quick enough, I should be able to get close enough to permanently shut them down. They shouldn't be a problem when we first go in, though… if she was telling the truth, those things could easily take out all of the enemies at once for us."

Garrus nodded, "Good. Glad I don't have to worry about scuffing up this armor…"

The Avatar chuckled, "Alright, ready?" His partner nodded, "Alright, on the count of three, you unleash the overload. On two, you open the door… One…"

"Two…" Wordlessly, the door turned on and slid open, revealing the inside of the room to the two of them, showing many enemies waiting for them inside. The moment the door opened, Jordan threw the device in, not giving any time for the enemy to react.

"Three!" The device, midair and only a few feet from the center of the room, suddenly exploded as sparks curled around it. The blast did little damage other than leave a small burn on the ground beneath where it exploded, but said damage was now shrouded in a cloud of black-ish grey smoke, obscuring both the enemies from them, and them from the enemies.

Garrus, now swapped to thermal vision and bringing his sniper rifle into position, took a knee and steadied himself, before his shoulder rocked back from the first impact. A single grain of metal flew from the barrel of the gun, cleanly killing one of the obscured enemies. The remaining enemies all began to fire upon the two of them as Jordan activated his Geth Shield Boost, charging forward to get into a better position.

He could feel several hits on his shields despite the low visibility, forcing him to double-time it into the room, unloading his own rifle toward the enemies. As he continued in, he heard Garrus' rifle go off, leaving a smoke trail in its wake, just as another gun stopped firing at Jordan. Reaching a pillar in the room for cover, Jordan hid behind it, before throwing a chain overload through the now-diminishing smoke, reducing a pair of shields to sparks.

The Geth Shield Boost now recharging, Jordan hid behind the pillar as the smoke cleared, granting visibility of his position to the enemies. However, another shot from Garrus, and another dead enemy later, the rest of them scrambled quickly to their own cover in the room.

"Don't let them get into the vault!" Someone yelled, before making a mad dash towards a nearby control panel.

Luckily, Garrus stopped him in his tracks with a concussive shot while reloading his rifle. Of course, as the gunfire continued, Jordan's omni-tool decided now would be a good time to connect him to Shepard.

_"Sower, Vakarian, do you read?!"_

"A little busy here, Shepard." Jordan answered back, before firing another few rounds at the enemies. Shortly thereafter, before being able to take another agent down his shields failed, forcing him back behind the pillar. "But how may I help you?" He finally asked.

 _"What's happening down there?"_ Shepard asked, _"Have you reached the data vault?"_

"Not quite." Jordan answered, his shields now back online as he peaked around the pillar, ready for more action. Throwing another overload, Jordan followed the destruction of an enemy's shields with a burst of rifle fire, killing another enemy. Garrus, likewise, killed the one beside them, killing the other agent whose shields failed from Jordan's overload. "We're right outside though, dealing with the welcoming committee. How about you? Found Dozk?"

Another concussive shot and overload from Jordan finally hit the last pair of enemies, stunning the two and lowering their shields as Jordan and Garrus combined fire, ending them both.

_"Not yet, but we're right behind him. Listen. This whole thing is a set-up by the Guardians. We're running out of time. Get the data and get back to the shuttle as soon as you can!"_

"Roger that, Shepard." Garrus told him, walking up beside Jordan. Taking a moment, he began scanning the vault entrance before them, before continuing, "Jordan and I should have the vault open and cracked in about two minutes."

_"Good. Watch each other's backs in there. Who knows what kind of surprises they'll have for you?"_

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, Broker Base, Compound Reactor.**

**April 1st, 2185. 5:15 am. EST.**

**[7 Minutes before Upload.]**

_"Good. Watch each other's backs in there. Who knows what kind of surprises they'll have for you?"_ Shepard told them, just as Tela forced the next door open, leading forward.

"You got it, Shepard. And good luck you two…"

"Thanks." Tela remarked over the radio, before disconnecting them and leading Shepard forward. Together, the two Spectres soon made their way through the next small hallway and staircase, before arriving at what could very possibly be the final door. Nodding to Tela, the elder Spectre immediately forced the final door open, revealing the chamber within.

It was a large chamber, easily being more than a story and a half tall, with a few other doors nearby, likely leading to closets or other small workstations. Straight ahead, behind a clear wall of what could be glass, stood a tall, radiating powercore, glowing blue. The core likely provided power to the entire compound, and was accompanied by large machinery scattered around the room and many terminals. The center counsel, straight ahead, was blocked from sight by the large, intimidating figure of a Krogan.

Trebakur Dozk stood at the main console, avidly working on the powercore and preparing it for meltdown. The light, soft blue color of the core seemed to be slowly increasing in intensity, bathing the room in a blue hue and overpowering the overhead lights.

As soon as they'd opened the doors and stepped inside, the Krogan began to speak.

"Ah, Shepard, Vasir, figured Bravo wouldn't hold you for long." Dozk said matter-of-factly, "Honestly, I'm pretty surprised he managed to slow you down as much as he did, the fool. Never did take me seriously…" He remarked, before turning around, "So, now that you're here, I see you and your team have split up… smart… or foolish…"

"We don't need four of us to take you down, Dozk." Tela replied glaring at the old Krogan.

"Hah!" He laughed in response, grabbing his Krogan War Hammer from his back and holding it in his right hand, his pupils dilating and beginning to turn a shade of red, "You think you can take me, little girl?" He asked, mockingly, "I've lived a good life, and I am ready for a good fight. Think you can provide me with one? Show me some honor before I kill you… just like your pathetic sister!"

Tela let out a battle cry and she began to glow with biotics, before launching herself towards Dozk in a biotic charge. Dozk, right as she was close to impact, swung his hammer at impossible, break-neck speeds, intercepting her and driving the asari Spectre off-course. Instead, thanks to the harsh blow, her trajectory changed by about forty-five degrees, slamming into another console and totaling the hardware.

"Pathetic." Dozk responded with a smirk, as Tela began to stand back up and try to recover from the blow. Not wasting any time, Shepard injected himself with an adrenaline boost, rushing forward and firing with his pistol one-handed and reaching for his shotgun as it overheated.

Dozk, in response, let out a rage-filled warcry as the bullets reflected off of his shields, grabbing a shotgun of his own and firing at the console Shepard was now using as cover. Sparks flew as the machine failed, forcing Shepard deeper into cover as more bullets rained upon his cover.

Tela, her senses now regained, biotically charged once more, catching Dozk by surprise while attention was focused on Shepard. Close to the enemy now, she quickly unleashed another nova, forcing the Krogan to stumble away from her. In response, he swung his hammer around, narrowly missing the asari as she leapt out of the way.

"Now! Get your asses out here!" Dozk yelled, running to his own cover to recover his shields.

Before either Specter could intercept, they were under fire from all sides. The side rooms and closets all opened in sync as half a dozen enemies left their hiding places, ambushing the pair.

Shepard switched again, grabbing his rocket launcher and holding it steady long enough to fire a rocket at a pair of enemies, blowing out both of their shields, right before a biotic shockwave appeared, courtesy of Tela. The shockwave took the unarmored, unshielded enemies and biotically crushed their insides, sending the lifeless bodies flying into the opposing wall.

With four enemies remaining, and his shields restored to normal, Dozk exited cover, holding a grenade launcher. The krogan agent had a wild smirk on his face as he stared at Shepard, no longer in cover. "My turn."

A pull of the trigger later, a grenade flew from the barrel through the air towards Shepard, who was also under fire from the other four enemies.

A few feet from Shepard, he turned in time to see the projectile approaching, before it froze mid-air, coated in a blue aura. He rolled into cover and looked over, seeing Tela concentrating as she held the grenade in the air mid-flight. Holding the stasis on the bomb, Tela released her hold on it, allowing it to fall straight to the ground and explode, closer to the enemies than them now after losing its momentum.

The blast did little damage to the other agents, but forced them to retreat into cover, as she mimicked them and found some cover of her own.

Dozk, momentarily shocked that the asari Spectre had stopped his grenade, finally remembered that he could fire more than once. Shaking his head, he fired another two grenades toward their cover, almost blowing it away entirely with the second blast, while forcing the two to leave cover.

"Tela, you take care of the others. I'll distract the dinosaur." Shepard called out, firing a rocket towards the Krogan and forcing him to dive into cover.

Tela nodded, charging once more into the fray, dealing with the annoying enemies on the other side of the room. Shepard fired another rocket at the Krogan's cover before switching back to his shotgun. Running between cover and approaching the Krogan's position.

Dozk saw Shepard's approach and grabbed his hammer, swinging it at the human Spectre's head. Ducking underneath thanks to his increased reflexes courtesy of Lazarus, Shepard swung the butt of his shotgun into the Krogan's face, ignoring shields and armor as he forced the Krogan back. Let out an indignant roar, he swung the hammer back around, swiping Shepard off of his feet.

Hitting the ground, Shepard rolled to the left, right as the melee weapon hit the ground where he landed, destroying the floor. As the Krogan lifted the hammer once more, Shepard found his shotgun's barrel laying against the Krogan's chest plate, and thus fired several rounds point-blank. The first three hits did nothing due to the shields, but one the fourth fire, the Krogan's shields failed, allowing the fifth shot to break some of this armor and send him stumbling.

Dozk's eyes narrowed dangerously toward Shepard, his reptilian eyes filled with malice and hate. Reaching to his side, the Krogan gripped his shotgun in one hand, and held the war hammer loosely in his other. He let out an inhuman roar and he charged Shepard, firing his shotgun at the Spectre as he regained his footing and rolled out of the way. Dangerously close to him now, Dozk, swung the hammer horizontally, causing Shepard to jump back out of the way. Rather than keep hold of the hammer and prepare another swing, he unexpectedly relinquished his hold, allowing it to fly through the air towards Tela, who just finished killing the other four enemies.

The blow struck her hard, disorienting the asari Spectre and slamming her into the wall. Shepard's eyes followed the trajectory, only just noticing that the Krogan was still moving.

Dozk, after releasing his hammer, swung his arm around, and in one fluid motion, removed a Krogan combat knife from its sheath on his leg. Still moving quickly, he swung the knife overhead towards Shepard.

Seeing this last second, Shepard raised his shotgun with both hands, using it to intercept the arm with the knife, holding the attack mere inches from his face.

Shepard, caught off-guard, struggled to keep the knife from descending, while Dozk growled and pushed hard against the Spectre's defenses. "You fought well, human." He growled out, "But now it is time for you to die."

With his other hand still holding the shotgun, Dozk pressed it against Shepard's chestplate. He fired once, critically lowering Shepard's shields and causing him to almost flinch at the loud noise. He fired again, blowing out his shields, this time making Shepard wince, allowing the knife in his right hand to get an inch closer to his face. He fired a third time, tearing some holes in Shepard's armor, yet not quite reaching his body. The knife now only hovered an inch from Shepard.

Dozk's smirk turned deadly, "You fought with courage, Shepard. Far more than I thought a human would possess, much less a Guardian."

Suddenly, before he could press any harder with his knife or fire once more with his shotgun, he froze, coated in a blue aura. Taking the opportunity, Shepard rolled out of the way as Dozk remain unmoving, aside from his eyes as he turned to look behind Shepard. He was locked helplessly in a stasis.

Looking behind him, Shepard watched Tela slowly move toward Trebakur Dozk, his war hammer held tightly in her right hand as she glared at the krogan. A second later, she stopped right in front of Dozk, smirking fiendishly at the agent as she gripped the hammer with both hands. She preferred her old asari sword, but this would do…

She looked him in the eyes as she felt her biotic hold on him starting to weaken. "You've hit me twice with this thing…" She told him, "How about you give it a try…"

As soon as the biotic hold weakened, Dozk attempted to move his shotgun towards Tela, only to feel a biotically-enhanced swing of a krogan war hammer smash into his chest. The Krogan flew into the wall behind him, leaving a sizable dent in his wake as he fell to the floor, momentarily stunned.

Tela biotically charged toward him, but refrained from actually impacting him. Instead, she stopped short, swinging the hammer down and crushing the Krogan's right leg, crippling the Shadow Broker agent.

He cried out in pain, before the hammer swung into his chest, breaking ribs as he slammed back into the wall to his back. Dazed and in pain, he reached for the knife he dropped, only to find the Krogan hammer now imbedded into the floor, burying his left hand underneath it. He bellowed in a combination of pain and rage, using the pain to focus his gaze on the vengeful Spectre standing before him.

He let out deep breaths, slowly trying to buy himself enough time to heal some internal injuries and strike back, "I… I knew you bastards would do something like this…" He said, glaring at Tela. "No mercy, eh…?"

She saw what was happening, though, thanks to her past experiences with Krogan, reached down and ripped his chestplate off with her biotics, before grabbing a pistol and firing several shots into his chest. She aimed carefully, though, and completely shredded one of his two hearts, before collapsing a lung. Even with the infamous regeneration and redundant organs a Krogan had, he wasn't going to be getting back up.

He screamed out in rage and pain from the hits, feeling the injuries beginning to take a toll. They overpowered his blood rage, forcing him to remain crippled and trapped; at Tela Vasir's nonexistent mercy.

After taking a moment to breath despite the loss of a lung, Dozk let out a laugh, "Ha… look at you… smart enough to put me out of commission… I commend you, Vasir…" He said, before using his head to motion at his bloody and crippled body, "Hialus would be so proud…" He said with a smirk.

Tela's eyes flashed dangerously as she clenched her fists, using all of her willpower to stop herself from killing him here and now. "You took everything from me…" She said with hate, "My sister was everything to me… and you killed her…"

Dozk laughed again, a smirk on his face, "Look at you, Vasir…" He said, "The most feared Spectre in the galaxy, reduced to a pathetic little girl without her little sister to keep her going… Tell me, what happens now? I die, you kill me, what keeps you going now, now that vengeance is served?" He taunted her, "You have nothing left…"

She lost control for a moment and biotically punched the Krogan in the jaw, forcing his head to the side as some blood began to trickle from his mouth, "What happens next is none of your fucking business, Dozk." She told him, "Once I reduce your body to paste, I'll carry on with my life like I had for the last hundred years…"

Dozk shook his head, "How pathetic you Guardians are…" He said, looking away.

Shepard stepped up from behind and stood beside Tela, "We told you, we aren't the Guardians of Athame." He told him, "We came here for you." He told him.

Dozk looked over and analyzed Shepard for a moment, before laughing, his smirk returning, "You really aren't a part of them, are you?!" He asked, laughing, "Hahahaha, that is perfect." After a second, Dozk's omni-tool came to life. "Hmm, seems like the upload stopped…" He remarked.

"What upload?" Shepard questioned the gravely injured Krogan. He figured this meant that Jordan and Garrus made it into the vault.

Dozk shook his head, deciding there was no point in remaining silent toward them, seeing as they weren't Guardians and they were now all doomed anyway, "In the event of an invasion by the Guardians, we'd upload the content of our data vault onto the extranet, sending copies of the data to all governments and agencies within the traverse and beyond." He helpfully told them, "The secrets of the Guardians would be known galaxy-wide…" He said with a crazed look in his eyes, "And you just stopped it… If you really aren't part of the Guardians, you just did them a huge favor…"

"Why are you so against the Guardians?" Shepard questioned.

Dozk let out a bark of a laugh, shaking his head, "You have no idea what they're capable of, Commander…" He said with a sad smile, "They're a shadow organization, working and running the galaxy in secret… At least everyone knows about the Shadow Broker, but them, they hold no accountability. They'd sooner doom an entire planet then let their secrets be known."

"Then why haven't you released this information already, Dozk?" Tela questioned, watching the Krogan carefully.

"Hehe… because that would be counterproductive. You see, they knew that we know a lot about them, and we know they know a lot about us… As long as the Guardians of Athame left us alone, their secrets would remain, that was the informal deal." Dozk explained, "We did this to buy us time, trying to get more and more of their secrets, before we finally published it galaxy-wide…" He then looked up into Tela's eyes, "But then, you took out the Broker, replacing him with whomever you did… I'm certain the Guardians saw this as an opportunity for them…" He shifted his gaze to Shepard, "Who could complete the impossible better than Commander Shepard… the only one who can best the odds and take this compound without the secrets being leaked out…"

Shepard and Tela's eyes widened in realization, "You mean…" Tela began, to which Dozk interrupted with a crazy, cough-filled laugh.

"If those bastards haven't made it here yet, they'll be in-system within an hour at most. And, with the data stopped now, we wouldn't have time to spill everything… You've been played, Commander, as have we all…" Dozk said, his breathing becoming more and more labored.

"Why are you suddenly being cooperative?" John questioned, "You weren't exactly so forthcoming earlier."

Dozk managed a shrug, "My time has come to an end, Commander. The Broker is gone, the GoA are on their way, and I'm not going anywhere… I don't really see a reason not to tell you how badly you've fucked up…"

Tela stood up straight and grabbed the Krogan's knife, examining it for a moment before turning toward Dozk, "I'd peel that plate off your head, but then I'd have to hear your screams and voice even longer…" She remarked, dropping the knife and switching to her shotgun, putting a fresh thermal clip into it, "So, I'll just make this quick, Dozk…" She told him with an angry, hate-filled smile.

The Krogan, for his part, showed no fear and he looked up defiantly at the asari Spectre, "All over a little brat…" He remarked quietly, but loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Tela wait!" Shepard said, pushing the shotgun's barrel down for a moment.

Vasir began to grit her teeth and growl, "Shepard…" She said slowly and dangerously, "I told you, I will kill him…" She ground out, shifting her glare toward him, "I will not give him another chance at life, if that is what you're suggesting…"

Shepard shook his head, "No, but wait one moment." He told her, before turning his attention back to the injured Krogan, "There's something you're not telling us." he told him, watching the Krogan carefully for any signs of deceit.

Trebakur Dozk remained silent for a moment, before laughing, "I have a question for you first, Commander." Shepard raised an eyebrow, allowing the Krogan to voice his question, "The mercy that was shown to me and my men, does your entire crew fight as deadly as you?"

Shepard narrowed his eyes and replied carefully, "Each and every valuable member of my crew are the best of the best."

Dozk smiled evilly, turning to Vasir, "Let me let you in on a little secret, Vasir… My mission, sixty eight years ago… it wasn't to kill your sister…" He informed her, watching her eyes widen, "It was to take her as a bargaining chip, and fake her death…" He said, "And now…" he shifted his gaze towards the exit, "Now, since your 'crew' have taken control of the data vault, I'd doubt that she's alive now…" He revealed, laughing maniacally as Tela's expression fell into shock. "How does it feel, Vasir?! Knowing that your sister had still been alive, only to be cut down by your crewmates?! Hahahaha-!" He began to laugh crazily, before he was cut off suddenly and violently.

The Krogan's head exploded as a single shot from the Vengeful Spectre's shotgun entered his skull, quickly followed by an additional four shots.

Shepard turned toward Tela, seeing a multitude of emotions flicker over her face. Shock. Confusion. Anger. Rage. Doubt. Sadness. If it weren't for her years of hardened experience and her professionalism, Shepard could imagine some sort of breakdown, or at least some tears…

She stared at the bloody corpse for a moment, before mumbling, "He's lying, he's got to be… one last fuck with my head… right?" She asked, both herself and Shepard, as she'd turned toward him by the end.

Shepard frowned, "I'm not sure. All that matters is that we find Jordan and Garrus. They may know something… Then, we need to get out of here." He said, motioning toward the ruined panels and core behind them. They'd stopped the overload, but the core was unstable. They had time, but eventually, it will explode.

Tela nodded, not speaking another word, motioning for Shepard to lead. As Shepard began to lead the way, he fired up his omni-tool and called Jordan and Garrus.

"Garrus, Jordan, Status?!"

 _"We're good here, Shepard. Sower's downloading the last of the data now…"_ Garrus told him.

"Good, finish as soon as you can, and meet us back at the exit…" Shepard told them, hesitating to ask about any asari they may have run into. "Garrus, about what you've run into…"

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, Broker Base, Data Vault.**

**April 1st, 2185. 5:17 am. EST.**

**[5 Minutes before Upload.]**

Just as Garrus suggested, it did take about two minutes to crack the vault's security.

Jordan certainly had to give it to the Shadow Broker, no expenses were spared when he had this vault created and built here, as this was some of the hardest encryptions he'd ever dealt with. Honestly, if he'd been working alone, it'd probably take a few minutes longer even with his handy-dandy 'Avatar of Synthesis' status. However, thanks to Garrus' and his experience, it made cracking this vault a little bit easier. After two minutes of expletives and bad jokes between the two of them, the light turned green and the vault was ready to be opened.

The two Normandy crewmates looked at one another and nodded silently, reaching for their weapons and preparing to storm the vault. If what their captive told them was true, there should be four people within the vault: three engineers, and a fourth asari huntress…

"On the count of three." Garrus said, preparing to activate the door.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

On three, he pressed a holographic key on his omni-tool, leading the large wall to slide begin sliding open into the rest of the wall. Jordan kept his back to the sliding door and Garrus made his way several meters back, finding distant cover to set up with his sniper rifle. The silence was deafening as the door slid open silently, before the silence was shattered when the door was half open.

A barrage of gunfire erupted out of the half-opened doorway, attempting to reach the pair despite the fact that they were hiding behind cover.

Swapped back to his rifle, Garrus returned fire, before Jordan joined in a moment later. Honestly, it was far easier than expected, as soon enough the gunfire stopped, reestablishing the silence.

The door now open, the two Normandy crew members carefully and cautiously made their way inside, watching both sides for possible enemies. All they found, though, was three dead engineers of varying species, along with the mainframe and a few consoles.

"Seems the Asari huntress isn't here…" Garrus said, "She could have gone to attack Shepard and Vasir…" He tried to reason.

Jordan wasn't feeling so optimistic, "I dunno… keep a lookout and shields up, I'll work on downloading the data. We came here with Shepard, I would always assume things are about to get worse."

Garrus chucked for a moment before responding, "I wasn't going to lower my shields, but I hear you."

Directing all of his attention to the main console, JOrdan quickly approached it and began to work his magic. He first focused on stopping the upload, easily shutting it down now that he had direct access to the system. He quickly discovered the destination of the data: The Extranet. Many things began to race through his mind as he made connections between different pieces of information, before shaking it off for a moment and resuming his task. Finally, after just a few more seconds, the coupled upload-delete sequence was shut down.

"Alright, they're stopped. I'll start downloading the data now."

"Loud and clear, Sower."

Jordan focuses on the data, soon discovering how much was actually stored here. There was no way any of their equipment or omni-tools would be able to handle this much information, further cementing the theory that this was a set-up. After all, there was no possible way someone without specialized equipment would be able to take the data…

That is, except for someone like Jordan, who holds large memory banks within his own body thanks to his artificial nature. Hopefully, the GoA weren't expecting this… hell, even Jordan wasn't fully expecting this. Resuming his work, he began to download the data into her personal data banks, skimming some of the information as he worked.

-It appears the GoA was founded during the discovery of the Beacon on Thessia, when the majority of the Matriarchs wished to keep it a secret and use the secrets within to further themselves. A single Matriarch, who is unnamed, renames herself Janiri, and dives deeper into the Beacon than any before her, discovering the truth about the Reapers, and discovers the existence of an unreachable Prothean VI deep within. She informed several of the other Matriarchs, but many blew it off as madness or a mistake in translation. However, a few saw the validity of her words, and soon the Guardians of Athame were founded.-

-Shortly after contact with the Salarians, several of the founders of the STG met with the GoA, and joined the growing organization.-

-The Rachni War was the first time physical evidence of the Reapers was discovered by the GoA, when Reaper technology, as described by the Beacon, was discovered in one of the Rachni nests.-

-The Krogan were excluded from knowing about the GoA, as a precaution against their aggressive nature. This was later shown to be the correct course of acion.-

-The Turians joined the Galactic scene and some higher-ups were brought into the GoA. However, the Turian Hierarchy made infiltrating the highest levels of their government difficult and near-impossible.-

The information dump within Jordan's head stopped suddenly as sparks shot up behind him, showering his back with warmth through the armor. His mind reawakened as he registered the sound of shields failing and an overload going off. Out of pure instinct, Jordan dove to the left, hitting the deck as a sword swung through the air where Jordan previously stood.

"Oh, shi-!" The Avatar yelled, before rolling once more to dodge a second downward swing from the asari's sword. Guess they found the huntress. As soon as the blade went partially into the ground, Jordan kicked it with all of his might. It bent slightly as the impact propelled him away from the murderous alien, sliding a ways on the ground before getting up quickly.

Looking at her, he could see the hate in her eyes, before she threw a Throw at him while diving into cover. He was thrown into the wall as a streak of smoke laid where she once stood, a shot fired from Garrus' sniper. Getting his bearings back, he heard Garrus speak.

"Good reflexes."

"Thanks. And thanks for the save."

"I was talking to her, but it's all the same."

Focusing back toward the Asari commando's last known position, Jordan fired up his Geth Shield Boost and drew his rifle. Exiting out of cover, the Asari seemed to realize her predicament while seemingly coming to a very startling conclusion. 'She may not survive this encounter, but she'd sure as hell give us the fight of our lives.'

She dove out of cover, narrowly and, luckily for her, dodging Garrus' shot. Her gaze was locked on Jordan as she held her heavy pistol, opening fire on JOrdan. She didn't expect the layered shielding he'd activated, though, allowing him to return fire. Her returned shields soon fizzled out as Garrus took one final shot at her, finally hitting his mark.

The Asari huntress was killed quickly and cleanly.

Jordan breathed heavily for a moment, "Woooooo… thanks, Garrus."

"Yeah, no problem. How's the data?"

"Well, before my download was interrupted, it was going fine. I think I'm almost done, give me another moment." He replied, before quickly making his way back to the mostly intact console He began his work once more, now ignoring the data for the time being in case there were more enemies. He'd have plenty of time to go over all of it later anyway.

After a moment, Shepard's voice sounded off over their omni-tools, his voice sounding almost frantic, _"Garrus, Jordan, Status?!"_

"We're good here, Shepard. Sower's downloading the last of the data now…" Garrus told him, making eye contact with Jordan.

 _"Good, finish as soon as you can, and meet us back at the exit…"_ Shepard told them, the urgency clear in his tone. Now was the time to finish up.

After another moment, Shepard spoke again, _"Garrus, about what you've run into…"_ He began, before he was interrupted by Tela Vasir.

 _"An asari?! Have you seen any asari on your way that…"_ She hesitated for a moment before finishing her thought, _"Have you seen any other asari that l-look like me…?"_ She asked hesitantly, stuttering for once which immediately seemed to raise some red flags for both Garrus and Jordan.

"We did just take out this huntress who tried to kill Jordan during the download…" Garrus mentioned, before Jordan remembered the asari from earlier.

"Speaking of, we do have a captive to bring back to the ship."

 _"A captive?"_ Shepard asked incredulously. Vasir remained silent.

Jordan replied, "Y-yeah, she was caught off-guard and we interrogated her. She should still be bound in their break room."

 _"Could it be…"_ Vasir said, barely a whisper over the comms.

"And… done, I've got the data, Shepard!"

Shepard grunted acceptingly, "Alright, good. Grab your captive and meet us by the elevator." Jordan could almost hear the upcoming lecture about taking a captive during the mission and especially for the fact that he didn't inform Shepard earlier.

"We'll be there soon, Shepard." Garrus told him, before turning to Jordan.

Time to grab her.

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea, Broker Base, Cargo Chamber.**

**April 1st, 2185. 5:29 am. EST.**

Shepard waited patiently within the first room of the compound, while his companion paced back and forth. He could understand her current feelings, though, seeing Vasir was just informed that her sister was supposedly in this base. And then there was the additional fact that Jordan and Garrus had taken a captive who could possibly be her sister.

Not a moment later, the door slid open, revealing a human, a turian, and an asari, who had her arms bound behind her back by… were those omni-cuffs? Where'd he get those?! Shepard shook his head. He'd question Jordan about all of this later.

As the group of three stopped in front of them, Tela froze in shock, slowly and weakly raising a hand up and toward the other asari, before stopping. Her eyes were locked onto the other Asari's, who seemed to look at Tela in curiosity.

"H-H-Hialus…" She slowly stuttered out, making the other asari's eyes open wide in surprise. Taking a moment silently, Jordan slid behind his 'captive' and slid off the cuffs, before putting them away and gliding quietly to stand by Shepard and Garrus. Together, the three of them fell silent and gave the two some time.

"H-how do you know my name?" She asked.

"I-it's me…" She said slowly, finally taking a step forward and gently touching Hialus' cheek with her hand, "Tela… your sister…"

At this, Hialus' eyes shot open wide before she took half a step back, her eyes watering, "N-no, y-you're not… my sister is long gone, killed by the Guardians of Athame…" She tried to convince herself, "D-Dozk told me he watched it happen…"

Tela's eyes hardened at the name's mention but they quickly softened again, "Dozk is a liar…" She reached forward and grabbed Hialus's right hand, gently leading it to Tela's head. Gently, she glidded her sister's hand to her crests, wrapping her sister's fingers around one of the lower areas. Her fingers felt a indent in the form of a circular scar, hidden within the crests. Upon feeling that, Hialus' eyes shot open and her jaw became slack.

"Remember when we were playing, and you tried to use your biotics to catch me… I feel backwards from your weak doubled throw/pull and hit my head on the table?" Tela said, emotion thick in her voice, "Haha… you started to cry-"

"Th-thinking that I'd just killed my sister…" Hialus finished, tears now freely flowing from her eyes as she dashed forward, wrapping her sister up in a tight embrace, crying into her sisters armor, "E-Ela…" She cried.

"Hia…" Tela said lovingly, tears escaping her own eyes, too, "I thought I'd lost you forever…"

"M-me too…"

Jordan, Shepard, and Garrus all watched the scene with warm smiles, giving them a moment. After a minute, Shepard cleared his voice, getting both of their attention, "I hate to interrupt your reunion, but we should probably leave before anything else happens. You two can have all the time you need back on the ship."

Both sisters nodded. They'd been alone for decades. They could certainly wait another hour or so if need be.

* * *

Together, the five of them made their way to the way they came in, approaching the exit elevator. Remembering what happened when they arrived, they all began to put their helmets on, or in the case of Hialus and Tela, put their masks on in anticipation of the toxin bloom on the surface.

The elevator began to rise, leaving the five of them in a semi-comfortable silence. Unfortunately, nothing peaceful ever lasts long for the Normandy crew.

 _"-ard… Shepard!"_ Joker's voice frantically suddenly cut in as the elevator rose towards the surface, likely allowing them to resume communication with the Normandy once more.

"What is it, Joker?"

_"Thank god you're there! Commander, a few minutes ago a small frickin' fleet entered the system!"_

"What?!" He called out in shock. Everyone else could hear the conversation, but were shocked into silence. Those that knew what was going on began to feel dread, hoping that their fears were not realized.

 _"Commander, their IFFs are transmitting with Galactic Citadel Counsel identifiers, but seem suspicious."_ EDI's voice cut in, _"I believe these are not friendlies."_

 _"And Commander? They've been on a steady course for the planet, but keep reaching out to communicate with us."_ Joker added. _"EDI keeps sending 'em to voicemail, though."_

Shepard took a deep breath, looking at the shock and dread amongst his teammates. Finally, he responded, "Joker, assemble the squad in the Comm Room, and remain in full stealth. Try to keep out of visual range, too. We'll be back soon."

_"Roger that, Commander. And hey, I'd love to know what kind of shit you've gotten us into now. You know, seeing as how this fake Counsel is trying to kill you, too…"  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated Tela Vasir abilities:
> 
> Tela Vasir – Asari Spectre
> 
> Power 1: Charge  
> Power 2: Shockwave  
> Power 3: Nova  
> Loyalty Power: Combat Stasis [Unlocked]
> 
> Combat Stasis: Combat Stasis is a more offensively based variant of a biotic stasis, which is difficult to utilize by most asari and biotics, and generally rare for even most Matriarchs to use easily. This ability can be used like normal Stasis to freeze enemies in place but render them almost indestructible, however, it can be used to catch projectiles. Projectiles caught this way become protected as long as the stasis is held, and remain in place, but lose all momentum they previously held. Applications for the technique include stopping rockets mid-flight, holding temporary bridges using fallen debris, and other such applications. The technique requires intense focus on the biotic's part, forcing them to dispel whatever biotic technique(s) they were previously holding. When Combat Stasis is used on a projectile, the biotic must continue focusing; the moment they stop focusing on the technique, it will end. Objects held in Combat Stasis, likewise, cannot move when frozen. Energy-based projectiles are nearly impossible to catch with Combat Stasis, and bullets can be caught, though the application for such projectiles is non-existent, as more bullets can simply be fired, ignoring the one or two caught with biotics.


	44. Chapter 38: The Aftermath

**Chapter 38: The Aftermath**

* * *

**Titan Nebula, Cof System, Zeithea's Orbit, Normandy SR-2**   
**April 1st, 2185. 5:54 am. EST**

The rest of the crew was waiting in the Comm room patiently as Shepard the those involved with the mission filed in, minus Hialus. The new guest/ex-captive was taken down to Chakwas to be checked out, with Tela begrudgingly leaving her sister's side to be involved with the meeting. Uncharacteristically, the senior Spector remained silent and deep in thought after parting with her sister. Jordan figured she may be under some kind of emotional shock. As the four of them entered, they could see the worry on Ashley and Tali's faces, with confusion on the others. Miranda was the first to break the silence once everyone was inside.

"Commander, what is going on out there?" She asked impatiently, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised towards their leader.

Shepard, ignoring the question, looked up to the ceiling and spoke to the resident AI. "EDI, what're we looking at?"

_"Our scans have revealed a dozen smaller vessels and five large vessels within the system, one of which being a Dreadnought. Their IFFs appear to be Citadel Council, but digging into it reveals this is not the case. It appears that whoever they are, are transmitting these in case of eavesdroppers, but not necessarily to fool us."_

"So, who the fuck are they?" Jack colorfully interjected.

"Someone who obviously wants to get our attention." Jacob replied, before turning to Shepard, "What happened down there, Shepard?"

"We were played." Shepard replied, gaining everyone's attention, "The intel for the mission was fed to us for the sole purpose of helping them out… only, they weren't counting on our resourcefulness."

Jordan nodded, "It has come to our attention that another shadow organization exists, and they desperately want their secrets kept."

"So, why the hell are we making enemies with them, or getting involved in any of this?" Brian asked, his concern easily visible. "And, who exactly are they?"

Jordan replied for Shepard, "Because they acknowledge the Reapers, and know what type of threat they pose." He turned to lock eyes with Miranda, "Does the name "Benefactor" ring any bells, Miranda?"

She slowly nodded, and finally moved to answer after Shepard motioned for her to do so, "The Benefactor is a coded name given to a secretive organization with unknown motives, reaches, and power. For all of the Illusive Man's abilities, we know little more than that they are the primary funders for the Andromeda Initiative, and seem to have near-unlimited funding." She told them.

"And so, you've pissed off this secret organization that nobody knows about…" Brian said, eyeing Jordan at the end of that before continuing, "Because they know about the Reapers?"

"Among other reasons, yes." Shepard replied with a smile before turning serious, directing his attention to the ceiling again, "EDI, are they still reaching out to us?"

_"Yes, Shepard."_

"I'd like to have a chat. How long can we talk before they track us down?"

_"Their fleet has spread out somewhat across the system, most circling close to the planet. I can bounce our transmission through the upper atmosphere, but I estimate five minutes before they can reasonably pinpoint our location."_

"Perfect, let's talk." Shepard said, before looking down at his crew. "I'll take the lead. EDI, record this conversation."

_"Of course, Shepard. Patching you through now."_

* * *

_"...Ahh, the Great Commander Shepard graces us with an answer…"_ A female voice spoke, a hologram of an Asari woman soon appearing in the center of the table. Her eyes locked onto Shepard, though her gaze not-so-subtly turned to Jordan for a moment before returning to Shepard.

"You have me at a disadvantage, miss…"

_"Janiri, you may call me Janiri, Commander."_

"Alright, Janiri… May I ask why I have the pleasure of speaking with you?"

 _"You can stop with the formalities, Commander. We both know they are simply a waste of time."_ She replied quickly, _"I'm more interested in the data you've procured."_

"I do not know what you're talking about. We simply raided a Shadow Broker base and took out a target."

_"I'm going to be honest, Commander, most of my associates did not appreciate my gamble. However, I must say they are certainly eating their words now, as you humans say. They did not believe you'd be able to disable and storm the base that quickly. Then again, no one bets against the great Commander Shepard and comes out on top."_

"I'm flattered, I think." Shepard replied, "So, why are you and your fleet out here, masquerading as Council ships?"

_"I'm sure you know why… We're here for the data you've picked up, and right now your best course of action is to do so, Commander. We can be both an invaluable ally and a nightmarish enemy."_

"So, what exactly is it that you're offering, Janiri?"

_"We can fund your mission, Shepard. Far more than your current employers. Honestly, how can you stand working with such monsters like Cerberus. The name is quite apt, you know? The name of a terrifying mythical beast of human mythology, guarding the deepest, darkest, and most foul places and men from those who seek to better the world."_

"At least Cerberus is honest with its intentions." Miranda couldn't help but cut in uncharacteristically. "We seek the betterment of Humanity and its future survival."

 _"Ah… Miranda Lawson, I was wondering how long it'd take the Illusive Man's right hand to speak out of turn."_ Janiri replied condescendingly, _"You know, if it weren't for your misguided, blind loyalty to the Illusive Man, you would have been considered as a possible recruit to our organization. It's so sad to see such talent wasted for such mundane goals."_

Miranda gritted her teeth but did not rise to respond. Rather, Shepard cut in, "You would fund my mission? Just like that?"

_"Just like that… Your mission is admirable, Commander, and definitely something we can rally behind. We know the Collectors are working for the Reapers. We understand the threat they pose to both Humanity and the galaxy as a whole. We can triple the funding the Illusive Man is giving to you. We can supply additional support when you finally go through the Omega-4 Relay. Anything necessary to complete your mission."_

"That sounds tempting… what's the catch?"

 _"Commander… there is no catch. All we ask is that you hand over all copies of the data…"_ Her image shifted as she eyed Jordan, _"And you give us one of your Avatars…"_

At that, Shepard's eyes hardened, becoming a menacing glare that would make most criminal wet themselves, "My crew is non-negotiable."

 _"Be reasonable, Shepard. You cannot even trust the majority of them. I mean, look at them…"_ She began looking around the room as she listed them off, _"You have a psychotic war criminal with a history murder and death, a few-week old krogan from a testube, an ex-STG scientist who's committed far more war crimes than I can begin to list off, an assassin with an obsession with religion, a turian cop-gone-rouge, a by-the-books diehard Alliance marine, a dirty Spectre with a dark and shady past, a merc with quiet a mouth whose loyatlies lie with his paychecks, a quiet thief who thinks they're important enough to actually matter, a Cerberus fanatic with daddy issues, a discharged ex-alliance cerberus agent who follows his heart rather than his orders, a lawless vigilante turned Avatar with untold secrets, a quarian princess who's seen enough resentment toward her species to turn anyone bitter, an honored Justicar obsessed with her code, and of course…"_

She says nothing about Jordan, only choosing to stare at him in silence. It makes him incredibly uncomfortable, as does the mix of emotions the other crew members are experiencing.

"What about me?" Jordan finally asked.

_"Ahh, so he does speak. The infamous Avatar of Synthesis, the savior and figurehead of the Geth, and the most interesting of you all… along with the least trustworthy amongst your crew, Shepard."_

"What is with everyone's fascination with me?!" Sower replied, annoyed.

_"You are the most interesting unknown of our time, Jordan Sower. The most intriguing discovery since-"_

Deciding enough was enough, Jordan cut her off, "Since the beacon on Thessia, right?"

At that, the entire room froze, with all eyes on him. He could feel three distinct glares directed at him from different directions. Brian looked at him with a combination of surprise and hate, probably because of him revealing such a large secret from the third game. Shepard starred in surprise and with some anger, at not being aware of what Jordan was talking about. However, it was 'Janiri's' glare that captivated him, radiating shock, before morphing into rage.

_"You… you looked at…"_

Deciding he had everyone's attention and she was relatively unbalanced now, he chose to push and go on the offensive, "I know all about it, Janiri. Why don't you tell us all about your honorable crusade against the Council of Matriarchs on Thessia? Tell us about the asari's deepest darkest secret." Her smoldering eyes showed how angry she was by his speech, but she was not the one to respond.

Samara spoke next, speaking neutrally and calmly, "Janiri, if that is truly your name, what do you have to say about this?"

The woman in the hologram frowned and seemed to seethe in anger, _"My patience and generosity is running thin, Jordan…"_ She replied, ignoring the questions.

Shepard decided to cut back in, "I'm going to have to decline your request, Janiri." He says, interrupting the woman's train of thought, "I would like to work together with you, but I will not simply hand over a crewmember and valuable data."

_"You are making a mistake, Commander… we do not have to be enemies."_

"Then be my ally, if not for my sake but for the galaxy's." He replied evenly, "The Reapers are coming, you know this. Would you really let such an argument doom us to extinction? Would you turn your back on the galaxy simply because I will not give up a valuable member of my crew?" He asked, watching the anger fade from the asari's eyes. "If your answer is yes, then you truly are no better than Cerberus or the Shadow Broker. At least they will fight for our lives."

Jordan could feel himself moved by the Commander's words. He really was persuasive; no wonder he'd been able to talk TIM and Saren into killing themselves.

After long bated breath, 'Janiri' finally responded, _"You are right, Commander, we will not let this disagreement turn us against the galaxy… however, you and the Broker's hesitance to work with us could spell disaster for the galaxy. Time is no longer on our side. There may no longer be a path to our survival… outside of fleeing."_

"The Andromeda Initiative…" Miranda breathed out, easily connecting the dots.

Janiri nodded and answered her, _"The last resort for our survival. If we cannot defeat the Reapers, like so many other civilizations failed to do, then our only hope for our civilization's survival is to flee, beyond where they can and would find us. Just look at the Protheans… they attempted to hide within this galaxy with cyro… and you see how many survived…"_

Jordan smiled inwardly, 'Except for Javik…' he thought to himself.

Certainly unable to hear Jordan's thoughts, Janiri continued, " _Commander, I must implore you to reconsider our offer. Unlike many of your enemies, we will not underestimate you. We can be very dangerous enemies. I may not wish to be against you, and I may be able to convince my associates to be lax with their judgement… but I can make no promises that we will leave you alone. There are certain things beyond even my control."_

"This is war, Janiri." Commander Shepard replied easily, "The way I see it, there are two sides: The Milky Way Galaxy and the Reapers. If you are not with me, you may as well join the Reapers."

Janiri fell silent at that, frowning. _"Goddess have mercy on my soul…"_ She muttered, barely audible over the comms, _"You have until you are prepared to proceed through the Omega-4 Relay. We will be watching the Relay, Commander, you have until then to reconsider our offer. Jordan and the intel, and you receive a fleet rivaling the Asari Republic's to take down the Collectors. I cannot promise any more time beyond that."_

Shepard nodded, "I may consider your offer, as long as you consider mine."

 _"Goodbye Commander, and may the Goddess be with you…"_ Janiri finished, preemptively cutting off the connection before any sort of tracing could finish.

The room fell into silence at that, before Shepard turned to Garrus, "Garrus, tell Joker to set a course for Illium, full speed." Garrus nodded, leaving the room immediately, before returning a moment later. Shepard paused, looking over his crew for a moment as he considered what to do next. They needed to get Liara on Illium, but…

He took a deep breath, before turning to fix a glare toward Jordan, making him flinch under his harsh gaze. His look spoke a thousand words, which Jordan easily interpreted it as: 'Tell us everything, now.'

Jordan sighed, before stepping forward and gaining everyone's attention. "I think it's time I share everything I've gathered from the data thus far." He told them, "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room. I will make a single back-up copy of the data for Shepard to with what he wishes, but this must not get out." He made eye-contact with Shepard, who nodded, "I'll begin at the birth of the Asari race…"

* * *

The Asari were a very primitive species in the time of the Protheans. The Protheans studied them, considering them for possible, eventual uplifting and inclusion within the Prothean Empire. In order to assert more control over the primitive species, the Protheans crafted the guise of Athame, a benevolent goddess who would impart wisdom and gifts to the Asari. She was accompanied by her guides, Janiri and Lucen. Much of the mythologies and legends surrounding Athame and her guides are based on real events, such as the defense of Thessia from an asteroid strike.

The Protheans worked with and upon the early asari, genetically altering the species for biotic-capabilities, rather than a natural evolution through their element zero-rich world. Eventually, as the invasion of the Reapers came closer and closer, a Prothean by the name of Pashek Vran received a 'premonition', predicting the imminent invasion. He, along with 'Janiri', 'Athame', and 'Lucen' crafted a Beacon containing a VI and untold amounts of Prothean secrets.

Hiding it on Thessia for the still-primitive race, they left the planet and destroyed all records of their influences on the Asari, hoping to spare them from the Reaper invasion, which was forseen by Pashek Vran via 'mystical and unknown ways'. He had the self-designated title of "Avatar of Cunning".

Fast-forward thousands of years, and the Asari advance to the point of being able to finally access a large portion of the Beacon, advancing their civilization by centuries in a matter of years. Several Asari had attempted to 'meld' with the Beacon, as they knew that the Protheans had been able to do similar feats. However, all who tried to meld with the Beacon to unlock the rest of its secrets died in the attempt, or were left braindead.

Until Mijari C'Nosta. The, at the time, sixth-highest Matriarch on the Asari Council. She was born with a rare disorder, which caused her to kill those she bonded with. One of the very first recorded Ardat Yakshi.

She attempted to meld with the Beacon, which sent her into a coma for three weeks. Her brain attempting to process what she'd received from the Beacon. At the end of the third week, she awakened, and was brought immediately before the rest of the council, seeing as she was the only survivor of the Beacon. She then relayed what she'd learned.

The Protheans had left them shortly before the Reaper invasion. The one in charge of this project and beacon was known as an Avatar. The Avatar of Cunning. The Reapers are artificial intelligences hell-bent on exterminating life every 50-thousand years. They killed off the Protheans, and would do so again to them unless they did something. The creator of the Beacon claimed plans for a device to defeat them were contained elsewhere. They needed to act. To do something…

The Council was, of course, astounded by what she'd shared, but demanded proof of what she'd learned. Otherwise, she could be simply making everything up as a power play. They motioned for her to meld with the head Matriarch of the Council. They all agreed.

Upon the death of the lead Matriarch, it was ruled that Mijari C'Nosta was severely damaged by the beacon, and the deep secrets of the Prothean device were truly impossible to know. She was exiled from the Council and stripped of her position, despite the fact that it'd been proved that the killing was unintentional. Her 'illness' was documented, and she was soon forced to leave.

Fast-forward another fifty years, and Mijari C'Nosta has undergone huge changes. To hide her original identity, she went by the pseudonym, Janiri. Her biotics, after the influence of the Prothean Beacon took root, became an unnatural green color, just as her 'memories' claimed the Protheans biotics appeared.

Returning to civilization, after recording everything she knew and allowing all of the information to settle, she approached the Council of Matriarchs again, intent on getting them to listen. The Reapers were real, and every single asari was going to die if she did nothing. The meeting went badly, as she was nearly sentenced to death for returning to them, but something happened that day that changed everything.

Some of the other Matriarchs believed her.

Teaming up, and utilizing the information and knowledge she'd accessed from the beacon, technological advances began to occur at faster rates. The "Guardians of Athame" were born.

* * *

**Titan Nebula, In-Cluster Transit, Normandy SR-2**   
**April 1st, 2185. 7:20 pm. EST**

After the informative meeting, the squad members broke apart to their respective tasks, all while trying to digest the information they'd just learned.

Shepard, after Jordan finished his briefing, informed them that they'd be meeting in a remote region of the Terminus systems to pick up Liara, who'd fled Illium shortly after they'd left. Jordan returned to the AI Core to try to figure out what happens next, though he'd had a quick staredown with Brian before he'd escaped. Tela, shocked by the revelations, returned to check on her sister in the Med Bay.

The one most affected though, was Samara. She hadn't spoken a word since Janiri ended the call, but everyone could've sworn she'd gone a shade or two paler during the briefing. Without warning, she left at the end of the meeting to return to her room, likely to reflect on what she'd learned and of the Code. Her loyalties were to Shepard and the Code, but she needed time to reflect on how these revelations will affect things.

Following Jordan, the Avatar of Synthesis just finished sending an encrypted data package to the Geth containing all known information about the Guardians of Athame and his suspicions. Deciding to take a break from work, he stood up from his chair and walked out the door as it slid open for him.

The Med Bay only had two occupants, currently: Hialus and Tela, though the latter of the two was currently unconscious in a secondary bed. The younger Asari's gaze jumped from her sister to Jordan as she heard the door slide open.

"Jordan… right?" She asked, her head tilting lightly to the left as she verified his identity.

He smiled and nodded, "Hialus Vasir?" He asked in turn, approaching and standing beside her, now.

"Yep." She said with a smile, bobbing her head up and down.

"Sorry about… you know, threatening you, and stuff back there…"

She shrugged, "I've experienced worse down there." She admitted, "But all's forgiven, seeing as you've brought my sister back to life."

Jordan chuckled, "More like I've brought you back to life." He shook his head, gesturing to the unconscious asari beside her. "What happened to sleeping beauty?"

The reference blowing over the alien's head, Hialus giggled, "I'll admit, she is rather beautiful… but, well, she's been freaking out, and she refuses to leave my side, so I'd convinced her to take a nap." She turned back to Jordan, "So, is there a thing going on between you and Tela?"

Jordan sputtered for a reply, his cheeks growing warm at the accusation as his brain came to a startling halt, "Wh-what?!"

At that, Hialus burst into light laughter, "You humans and your red faces, it's hilarious!"

"I… well, it's… it's not funny, ok?" Jordan replied, "At least I don't go purple." He muttered.

"Sorry, sorry… It's just, well, I wanna make sure my sister's ok with you." She said honestly, staring deep into Jordan's green eyes, looking for something. "Whoa… your eyes are glowing… are you biotic?"

Jordan shook his head slowly as he flinched, "No… It's more complicated than that… I'm sorta half-machine…"

"Like a Cyborg? How does that work? Are your organs intact, or were they replaced with machines, too? Or, were they integrated with nano-technology to increase their functional capacities? Were you dying, and an experimental procedure happened?" She starting rattling off questions, before stopping herself. Purple blood soon flooded to her cheeks. "S-sorry, my medical mind just went crazy."

Jordan chuckled, shaking his unease away from his internal feelings about himself, "It's fine, I'm sure this is normal for you, huh?"

"Well, sorta. I used to get like that all the time in school. But back at that base, the most that would happen is someone would break a leg or sprain a mandible during their training." She admitted, "Ela would always tell me my mouth could out-speed her Charge any day."

At that, Jordan let out a laugh, "You really care about your sister, huh?"

"Well, duh. She took care of me for most of her life. She's always put me above everything else, making sure that I'm fine, before worrying about herself. It's nice, but sometimes I wish she'd take better care of herself without me…" She paused for a moment, "You know, before everything happened a while back…"

Jordan nodded, letting the room slip into silence for a moment, before it was shortly broken a few moments later.

"You know…" She began, getting Jordan's attention as a smirk formed on her lips, "When we were catching up, Tela wouldn't stop talking about you." Jordan's blush reappeared at that, "There you go again, turning red again! Anyway, she admitted that she'd worked for the Broker before you came along and changed a bunch of stuff."

"Yeah, how much did she tell you?"

"She said she almost killed you."

"Hey, I'll have you know that she wasn't anywhere near killing me." Jordan responded indignantly, "Was she annoying back then, yes. But she was just wasting my time and distracting me."

"Mhmm." Hialus hummed, "Well anyway, she told me about how she went from enemies to friends without. Apparently, her only real friend since I was taken."

Jordan smiled lightly at the thought, "Yeah, we're pretty close."

"I'll say that again. I think sis' got a little crush on you." Jordan's mind came to a screeching halt, but managed to control his blush to a certain extent. Seemingly ignoring Jordan's baffled expression, Hialus continued, "Yeah, she's not very vocal about her emotions or feelings, but call it a sister's intuition. It's actually kinda funny, though. I remember back when we were younger, she said she'd grow up and meet a big, strong Krogan and bond with them."

Jordan could almost imagine it, but didn't reply to that. Instead, "Listen, Hialus, you've only been back with her for a few hours, so I don't think that…"

"How do you feel about Tela?" She cut him off.

"I… well, I'd say we were pretty close…" Jordan managed to say after a moment.

"You're friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"Close friends?"

"Yes."

"Best friends?"

"I guess…"

"What if she asked you out on a date?"

"Hialus!"

"What? It's a valid question. And one you're dodging."

"I don't have to answer you. I barely know you."

"Listen, Jordan." She said seriously, "I lost my sister for decades, ok? Now, many Asari like to stand on their pedestal and preach that time is different for them, and decades are nearly meaningless to them. But I know how it was for those long, long years. Tela is my sister, and I love her more than anyone else in this entire galaxy. I spent the first week crying in a room after I was told she was dead." She told him.

Jordan had no response, and knew better to interrupt her when she had more to say.

"And now, now that I'm back and reunited with her, I hear all about a human who's done more for her than anyone else in this entire galaxy. A human who freed her from a dark fate, who got past her icy exterior, who saved her life, and who reunited her with her one and only sister." She told him, "More than half the time she was telling me what happened to her after I'd left was spent talking about you; a human who has only existed in her life for a couple years."

Jordan's eyes widened at that, not quite realizing how huge of an impact he'd had on her despite everything. He knew he'd done a lot for her, but to take up so much of her mind that she'd talk more about him than about everything else… it was mindboggling.

Hialus resumed, locking eyes with the avatar, "I need you to tell me, Jordan. I know how important you are to my sister, but I need to know how important she is to you."

Jordan slowly nodded at her serious expression, "Honestly… I don't know… I… I don't know how much she told you about me and my past, but my life had never been anything like this until less than three years ago. I only had a handful of people I could rely on back then, and everything is so different now." He took a deep breath, "I… I need to figure things out first, I don't know how to feel about her. I really, really care about Tela. She's done a lot for me, and I for her, but…"

"It's hard to put into words?" Hialus asked softly, her expression softening ever-so-slightly.

"Yeah…" Jordan admitted.

Hialus finally smiled at that, "I think you've answered my question, despite your confusion." She told him, "And for what it's worth, I'm happy she's found such a good friend in you…"

"Thanks, Hialus…" His gaze slowly shifted over to Tela's sleeping form, her back facing them as her side rose and fell in a slow, methodical fashion. "What about…"

Hialus brought a hand to her mouth as she covered a giggle, "Don't worry, I won't say anything. You two will have to figure things out, yourselves…"

Jordan nodded, "Alright… I'm gonna get going, maybe grab some dinner."

"Alright, have fun." She replied, leading Jordan to stand back up straight, and walk towards the exit.

He quickly left towards the mess hall, never noticing the light smile on Tela's face as one of her eyelids slid open, watching his form leave the room.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Normandy SR-2**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 3:46 am. EST**

The majority of the crew were sleeping by this time, with the exception of the Cerberus night crew, Joker (since he'd wanted to be awake for Liara's arrival… and he'd slept earlier), EDI, and Commander Shepard. In fact, it was only a few moments ago that a Geth ship had finally met up, docked momentarily, and left without another word, leaving Liara behind on the Normandy.

Rather than meet her down there, Shepard finished tidying up his personal deck of the ship, making it presentable for the visiting yet hopefully staying Asari researcher. Less than five minutes after the small Geth craft left the Normandy, Shepard heard a knock at his cabin's door. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he turned toward his door, not saying a word as he approached from within.

Not a moment later, Shepard arrived at his door, taking one final calming deep breath before pressing the button. Permission given, the door slid open to reveal a single asari standing before him, wearing her ever-alluring blue and white researcher's outfit. His heart melted seeing her face despite it only being a few days. Unable to stop himself from speaking, he uttered a single word of welcome…

"Liara…" Shepard breathed out, opening his arms as she stepped forward into the embrace. They held one another and closed their eyes, enjoying the feeling of being with one another once more. "I'm glad you're alright…"

"Same for you, John." She replied, pulling back a bit as they looked into each other's eyes.

The door slid closed behind her as they remained standing in Shepard's loft on the top deck, "So, come in, and tell me about what's been going on." She sighed internally, wishing they'd have time to simply be with one another without work being involved… but she wasn't naïve or dumb enough to fail to recognize that they needed to do this. Work now, play later.

She nodded, walking down the steps before turning and sitting down on the oversized couch. She set her personal device onto the table in front of her, which blinked to life with a holographic project floating over it. Shepard sat down next to her.

"Shortly after I'd sent you on your way, they made a move on my office. They were expecting me to be accompanied by the cloaked Geth Hunters, but they hadn't realized I'd ordered them to triple their numbers. They didn't stand a chance, and quickly fell back, but the message was clear: They were coming for me, and the Broker." She told him.

"You got off of Illium after that?"

"Yes. I'd sent an encrypted call to Feron and the Geth at the Broker's main base. The Geth were exceptionally resourceful, and thought ahead, so all I had to do was tell them what was going on. You see Shepard, the Broker's base was built into a non-spaceworthy ship within the atmosphere of Hagalaz. The Geth, however, anticipated the discovery of the base, and prepped it for space."

"So, the Shadow Broker base is…"

"Currently on its way to a more secure and secret location. I'll share the details once it arrives, but let's just say the GoA will never find it now… and I'd give anything to see the looks on the Guardians' faces when they go to secure Hagalaz and find it empty." She said with a smirk, "Reports show that hours after your mission, they'd actually traveled to Hagalaz, probably in an attempt to bargain with-…"

 _"Incoming Communication Request."_ Her personal VI announced, cutting off Liara's train of thought. She turned her gaze toward the blinking icon on the projection.

"By who?" She asked.

 _"Incoming Communication from Doctor Treeya Nuwani."_ The Computer immediately responded. Liara's eyes widened only a second after the name was spoken, quickly remembering who this was and what was about to happen.

* * *

_"Oh shit…" Jordan muttered, before turning to Liara with wide eyes as they sat in the Shadow Broker's office "I forgot to tell you, I'm going to need your help!"_

_"What, what is it?" The new Shadow Broker asked._

_"After Shepard is revived, before he storms the Omega-4 Relay, there's an attack on Fehl Prime, but you'll get a message from an old colleague of yours."_

_"Wait, what?"_

_"Tree… va… Treeva, I think that was her name."_

_"Treeva Nuwani? What about her?'_

_"She'll call you with a Collector Artifact, or Reaper, or both… I can't remember, exactly, which is weird, but she'll ask you about it. You talk about the Reapers, and then they're cut off mid-conversation." He told her, "It's a Collector attack on Fehl Prime. You're going to need to have something set up to help. That's an important colony, and it's one of the few named ones that we may be able to prevent." Jordan explained._

_"I can keep an eye out, possibly prepare to intervene should that conversation occurs…"_

_"Thanks, Liara." Jordan said, letting out a sigh of relief, "We could save thousands of lives…"_

* * *

"I accept." She said, making sure the Vid-Comm would only capture her and her presence, rather than include Shepard.

Only a second later, the display showed an unknown asari, surrounded by several Alliance Marines. Liara immediately spoke first, a smile on her face as she took in the appearance of her old friend she once worked with.

"Doctor Nuwani, it's good to see you." Liara said.

Likewise, the other asari smiled, _"You as well, Doctor T'Soni."_ She continued, _"I found an unknown object in the ruins on Fehl Prime and wanted to get your input."_

In the background, they could hear one of the marines mutter, _"Is it my imagination, or do they all look alike?"_ Shepard shook his heads at the comment but didn't respond, letting Liara take lead.

Liara, however, was focused on the device shown in the vid directly in front of Nuwani. "Hmmm…" Liara said to herself, "Well it's not Prothean, I can tell you that." She told her, "In fact, it doesn't match anything I've ever seen…" She remarked, trying to figure out what it may be.

 _"Based on the cursory inspection I've given it so far, these are some very advanced biomechanics…"_ Treeya Nuwani remarked.

Liara's expression hardened, "This could be Reaper tech…" She said, catching Shepard's expression of shock. Continuing upon seeing some confusion on the other side of the comm, "They're an ancient race of sentient starships who've marked all other intelligent life for destruction, hence their attack on the Citadel."

 _"Yeah, hold up."_ A marine cut in, _"That ship went for the Alliance's jugular because it… wanted to?"_ He asked in both confusion and skepticism, all while Liara showed a visual of Sovereign and the Citadel on the screen.

 _"Don't tell me you believe that."_ A Hispanic-sounding marine commented.

 _"With all due respect, Doctor T'Soni…"_ She cut in, _"That ship was nothing more than a Dreadnought, piloted by a rogue Spectre agent."_

Liara immediately began shaking her head, "I saw it, Treeya. I heard it speak." She told her in complete honesty, "What's more, I am sure that the Reapers are responsible for the Prothean disappearance fifty-thousand years ago." She tried convincing her, before suddenly the signal with the call began to give way, "And now that we know the truth, the Reapers…" She tried to continue, before the signal completely gave out, ending the call. She expected this, yet dreaded it all the same.

 _'Collector Attack on Fehl Prime.'_ Jordan's voice helpfully supplied in her head thanks to his warning a year prior. Liara's eyes widened in alarm. She quickly turned toward Shepard.

"Shepard, that device on the vid… did that look like Collector tech to you?"

John closed his eyes and thought for a moment before nodding, "It did…"

Liara spoke now, "Shepard, I believe the colony of Fehl Prime is about to be attacked by the Collectors." She told him. Shepard's eyes opened as he came to the very same realization. Collector tech, loss of signal, alliance colony in the Terminus Systems…

Shepard activated his omni-tool, calling the Normandy, "Joker, set a course of Fehl Prime. No shortcuts, the Collectors are on the attack!"

_"Right away, Shepard. ETA three hours. We're actually not too far out."_

Shepard turned back toward Liara, frowning, "I wish we had more time to figure everything out…"

Liara nodded understandingly and smiled warmly at the Commander, "Go, Commander, assemble your crew. There will be time when you return."

And with that, Shepard immediately began contacting the rest of his squadmates, demanding their presence in the comm room for an emergency meeting/briefing. Liara frowned, looking down for a moment, deep in thought...

 _'I guess that'll finally give them the chance to get the Collector intel from a ship…'_ She thought, realizing that said 'event' had not occurred like it should have, according to Jordan's recollection of events.


	45. Chapter 39: A Prime Target

**Chapter 39: A Prime Target**

* * *

**Terminus Systems, On Approach with Fehl Prime, Normandy SR-2**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 4:59 am. EST**

Shepard stood at the head of the table in the Comm Room, a hologram of Fehl Prime already on full display in the center of the table. All around him stood his crew members, all wide-awake and ready for action upon hearing about a potential Collector attack. Samara, in particular, seemed rather normal despite what had happened the day prior. Perhaps she was over it and found inner peace about the situation… or maybe she was just hiding her inner turmoil? Who knew? But Shepard made a mental reminder to take her aside and talk to her later.

"Approximately an hour ago, Liara received a call from one of her associates on Fehl Prime, reporting to have discovered odd technology of unknown origin." Shepard began once they all focused on him, "Shortly thereafter, communication with Doctor Nuwani, as well as the rest of the planet, went dark." The projection showed an image of the asari doctor with the artifact, "As you can see, it appears to be Collector in origin. Combined with the fact that the entire colony went dark points to one possible explanation…"

Ashley's eyes widened as she breathed out the answer, "Collector Attack…"

"Exactly." He said with a nod, motioning toward the display. It soon changed back to a projection of Fehl Prime, with another image of a Collector Ship nearby. "I fear that we will be too late to halt the invasion like were able to do on Ferris Fields. In this scenario, the colony would be loaded onto the Collector Vessel, and preparing to leave the system and return through the Omega-4 Relay."

"So, they're as good as gone?" Zaeed asked, his eyes narrowing. "Bullshit."

"There's gotta be something we can do, Shepard." Ashley said.

"What about the Geth?" Miranda asked, looking at Jordan, "Didn't they station outposts to monitor many of the colonies in the Terminus Systems?" She asked, drawing everyone's attention to him.

Jordan frowned and shook his head, "The Collectors aren't stupid. After their beatdown at Ferris Fields, they've grown more cautious. We've lost contact with the station shortly before Liara received the call. Unfortunately, the Collectors must've sent other forces out as distractions, because three other stations have reported malfunctions simultaneously, yet those colonies are fine."

"So, we're running in blind, when all hope seems lost?" Jacob asked.

Garrus interjected, "Shepard's got a plan." He stated, returning the attention to Shepard. "Don't you, Commander?"

John smiled and nodded, "I've discussed this with the Illusive Man previously. The Collectors have a program within their systems that wipes their data in the event of their ship being destroyed or taken, but some corrupted bits and pieces remained within their mainframe. Before the meeting, the Illusive Man contacted me with a data package. EDI?"

EDI's voice played out over the intercom. _"The data package contained recovered fragments of the Collector Ship's mainframe, along with several access codes. Along with this, further data and preliminary analysis of the wreckage has revealed the basic blueprints of these ships."_

"So, you're saying we have some information about their ships, and some access codes to get into their computers?" Brian asked.

"Exactly." Shepard affirmed, motioning for the projection to zoom in and focus on the Commander Vessel, "Based on Mordin and EDI's analysis, the Collector Vessel, even at full speed, would take approximately two to three hours to fill up before leaving a colony the size of Fehl Prime. From there, an additional hour before leaving the system, and a further two to reach this cluster's Mass Relay, which is the worst-case scenario." He informed them, getting a nod of agreement from Mordin.

"So, what's the plan?" Kasumi asked, materializing, "Once they break free from the planet's atmosphere, they'll jump to FTL, making boarding for a heist impossible."

"But what if they can't jump to FTL?" Jordan whispered just loud enough to be heard. He turned to Shepard with a smile, "That's the plan, isn't it?"

Shepard nodded, "We've picked up just enough fragments of a Collector IFF to imitate a message sent from beyond the Omega-4 Relay. They should believe it to be a message sent from their superiors, or another group of Collectors, and once they receive the message…"

"A virus." Tali said, her eyes sparkling beneath her visor, "You're going to inject a virus into their system."

 _"Correct. Unfortunately, the size of the data package must remain small in order to not arose suspicion. In this case, the virus will only be able to initiate two sequences. Imitate FTL instability, and force a thirty-minute feedback loop of 'all-clear' on their scanners."_ EDI informed them.

Shepard motioned to the Collector Ship, "Assuming they've gotten what they need, those two signals should be enough to convince them to spend some time reassuring that everything is fine before leaving the System. They're taking humans alive for a reason. There's no way they'd put an entire ship full of them in jeopardy after spending so much time and effort kidnapping them. They're also notorious for leaving no evidence, so they may spend extra time doing so. That's when we'll make our move, while they're 'initiating repairs' in upper atmo."

Three different sections of the projection turned a different color. A lower portion of the ship was red, a middle portion was green, and an upper area was blue, while the rest remained orange. Shepard pointed to the lower, red section first.

"The attack will consist of three teams. Team number one will be led by Garrus. Your goal will be to take their equivalent of the engine room where their Drive Core is. I want the FTL drive rendered non-functional. Try not to damage the engines overall in case we need to direct the ship back down to the surface gently, but saving the engines is not your top priority. If they get onto us quick enough, they may attempt to flee. That cannot happen."

Garrus nodded at that, "I can do it, Shepard."

Shepard smiled, "I know you can, Garrus. You'll be taking Brandon, Tali, and Jacob with you." The three mentioned crewmates nodded in affirmation. He then directed their attention to the middle portion, "Team number two will be led by Williams."

At that, Ashley looked startled. "M-me…? Sir?"

Shepard nodded, "I've seen your records, Ash, and I know you… I know you can handle this. You'll be taking Grunt, Mordin, Jack, Zaeed, Thane, Miranda, and Tela with you. You'll be the primary team, and the one with the most important task." He said, earning some confusion from a couple of them who hadn't figured out why so many were given to one task, "This is the central chamber, which, according to the reports on the wreckage, is where the containment pods are kept. Your mission will be to take the Central chamber and hold it. Attempt to wake up as many as you can…" Shepard looked to Jordan, "The Geth?"

"I've been in contact with Legion's fleet, and they're the closest group to Fehl Prime. Unfortunately, they're still several hours out. They won't make it in time to help right away, but he assures me that they'll have more than enough room to evacuate the colony from the ship. We'll just need to hold on…" Jordan informed them.

Shepard nodded, "We'll be on our own at first, so we'll have to make this work as best as we can." He then motioned toward the final portion of the ship, which was blue, "I'll be leading Team three, along with Jordan, Kasumi, and Samara. Here is where the central terminal on the ship is located, and our best shot at their records aside from their bridge. We'll be hitting them fast and hard, taking every drop of information from them with EDI's help." He told them, before the colors vanished, soon replaced with two blinking white dots. One was located near the engines, while the other was located at the far end of the central chamber.

"What about me, Shepard?" Came another voice as the door slid open, revealing Liara T'Soni.

Jordan wasn't sure if he had purposely not included Liara or not, but regardless, he adapted quite quickly. "If you're willing to help, I'd prefer to add you to Ashley's team. They'll need as much help as possible."

"Of course, Shepard." Liara nodded with a smile, "I shall accompany Chief Williams."

"Team one will infiltrate the lower decks via the Cerberus Shuttle. It'll get you in there fast and quiet, and will land shortly after the main force. Teams two and three will land and enter together at the second point with the Normandy. Joker will let us off here, and we'll secure this docking port, together. From there, we'll split up for our respective tasks." Shepard said, "Well get in, cripple the ship, save the Colonists, steal the information, and get the hell out of there before blowing the ship. It's going to be tough; we'll be fighting them on their own turf this time, but we're ready for this. I have faith in each and every one of you…" He spoke with resolve, his eyes drifting over his crew with a smile, "Let's kick some Collector ass."

"Fuck yeah, now you're talking!" Jack said with a huge grin.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, Collector Ship**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 7:34 am. EST**

James Vega was having quite a shitty day.

It began like any other day… He'd hit on Treeya, played with April, and enjoyed what was supposed to be just another day on Fehl Prime… then everything went to shit faster than he'd ever seen. Worse than the Blood Pack attack. The colony was attacked, giant bugs called Collectors began kidnapping everyone, and half of his squad has fallen to those creepy bastards.

Kamille was taken and converted into… whatever the hell that thing was, the flying, lazer-filled husk-bug. Mason was later vaporized by said husk-bug. Nicky was stabbed by the very same flying abomination. Then, right as he as his team were just about to fry the Collector Ship's Drive Core, Brood stopped responding, crashing their only ship into an interior wall…

The next thing he knows, James is paralyzed within one of those damned pods, watching and hearing Messner, the Cerberus spy, give away his plans and take Treeya away. There wasn't a damned thing he could do about it, aside from watching. She screamed and called out his name as she disappeared with Messner, but he couldn't even utter a reply… at least, not at first.

Thanks to his quick thinking earlier, not a minute after she'd left, and Vega was free from his pod. The sole Collector left to guard him now sporting a few new holes. Brood had appeared, dying before giving up his final power cell to him, which would soon be given to Essex. Now, it was just him, Milque, and Essex…

"Great… So what's our move, now?" Essex spoke.

James fiddled with his helmet, "Free the colonists… and get the hell out." He said.

"You, uh… really think it's going to be that easy?" Milque asked, unsure.

"No, no, but I think we can get the Collectors' processing system to do most of the work."

"And how we gonna do that?!" Essex asked, doubtful of the plan.

James motioned to the many pods around them, "They run the pods through here on this conveyor line, right? So what do you wanna bet's on the other end?"

Realization dawned on Milque, "…The holding area we saw when we flew in…!"

"Right. So I'll rig the antidote to disperse and send the pod back down the line. You guys get started on the people in here." They quickly got to work.

Milque remarked, as the antidote flooded his nose, "It smells worse than it tastes…"

"Pod's away. Cross your fingers." James told them, the three Alliance Marines watching the pod descend down the tube, before they began to move.

"Hey Vega… so once we wake everyone up… We're already off planet… how do we get off this ship?" Milique asked, which was indeed a fair question.

He didn't respond at first, quickly finding the little girl he'd always play with back on the ground. "April…" he muttered, a smile on his face as he found her.

"Earth to Vega!" Milque called out over the Comms, "You listening, man?!"

"I hear you, Milque. Give me a sec… I just found April." He could have sworn he heard him make a sound of disapproval, but ignored it. He spoke aloud, both to himself and April, "Hey soldier, you're gonna be alright." He said as he began to pry the pod open with his knife, "Just one more thing I need to do and then I'll be back." He promised her, "Alright! Milque! Essex! Time to move! Let's go!" He called out, "We need to get our hands on Messner."

If only the antidote didn't take so long to take effect… The three of them began to leave the chamber, ready to show these Collectors who they were messing with… but then the entire ship began to shake… Gunfire could be heard…

Someone else was attacking the Collectors… And that's when the nearby wall gave way in a blue explosion.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, Collector Ship, Normandy Shuttle**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 7:28 am. EST**

Garrus watched the readings of the ship as the shuttle approached. It was just as they planned.

Once they'd arrived in-system, they'd found the Collector Ship had already left the atmosphere, ascending higher and higher before launching a main blast where the colony must have been. This was the first time they'd seen an entire colony erased from the map like this, so the experience was jarring, to say the least. Beyond that, everything else went exactly as planned, for once.

The virus was away, and the ship made no attempts to leave Fehl Prime's orbit, likely checking on their systems. The plan was finalized as Garrus, Tali, Brian, and Jacob boarded the shuttle. As they were on approach, Garrus noticed something odd. Being the smart Turian he was, he immediately contacted Shepard.

"Shepard," His voice called out, catching Tali's, Jacob's, and Brian's attention, "I've got news."

_"Good news or bad news?"_

"Hmmm, not sure. I think they bought the virus trick because they actually did receive some damage."

_"What'd you find?"_

"Simply put, there's a hole on the side of their ship." He told them, "It seems rather close to their drive Core, too. If I had to guess, I'd say some of those colonists, or someone else, attacked them, trying to take out the ship." Garrus observed, "They're probably dead, though. The hole was made at least thirty minutes ago, and the ship seems fine."

_"I'd stay optimistic, Garrus. Keep an eye out for survivors. There may be others on board."_

"Can do, Shepard."

And with that, the shuttle flew through the provided hole, heading straight through the interior toward the rear of the ship. Garrus nodded to the three other occupants behind him, silently telling them to get ready. In all likelihood, especially thanks to the virus, their landing zone would be hot.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, Collector Ship.**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 7:28 am. EST**

Shepard stood directly to Joker's right, the rest of his crew ready to go near the airlock behind him. He watched as the Normandy gently and gracefully glided ever closer to the enemy vessel.

"You know, Commander, I've really gotta hand it to you." Joker said, not bothering to look toward him as he focused on guiding the ship in, "After all the times I've let you off on space stations, 'friendly' ports, unmapped planets, and definitely-not-a-trap ships, you would've thought I'd seen it all with you. But really, a bug full of human-abducting bugs…? God, I need a pay raise…" He muttered just as the Normandy lined up with the ship.

Shepard chuckled inwardly and patted Joker's chair, "Considered yourself promoted, Joker. We'll get you your platinum medal after dealing with the bugs." He told him, before turning around and stepping out of the cockpit.

"As long as I don't have to hear any speeches or attend a ceremony, it can be made of paper mâché." He remarked over his shoulder, "Oh, and bring me back some cool souvenirs."

Ignoring Joker with a shake of his head, Shepard approached the airlock, where the rest of them were waiting. The door quickly slid closed behind him while he put his helmet on and sealed it, just in case. Only a moment later, with the pressure equalized, the other door opened, allowing the thirteen of them off and onto the Collector Ship.

They'd only progressed a few feet, before they all came to the same conclusion. It was creepier than they had all originally thought. Down the first hallway and further into the ship, it was quickly found that the environment within was fully breathable, however, Shepard deemed the risks too high for anyone to remove their helmet or mask.

Everything was going fine for a moment, before they hit their first obstacle.

Entering a large chamber filled with filled pods of colonists, there were at least a dozen collectors, seemingly in wait for them. As soon as they entered, they were fired upon.

Everyone dashed to different cover nearby, spreading out on Shepard's command. They had outnumbered the collectors, until two dozen more came in as reinforcements through other doors. Unfortunately for the Collectors, there still weren't enough of them to be able to counter this many of Shepard's crew.

Like a steamroller, the Normandy crew blew through the welcoming committee and their entourage quickly enough, demonstrating how in sync and powerful the team had become. Jack threw a shockwave at the masses of bugs, throwing many off their feet as she screamed 'I will destroy you!'. Kasumi and Grunt both rushed forward, the former doing so sneakily and silently with her cloak, while the latter charged like a typical krogan. Spectre Tela Vasir biotically charged forward as well, lending her strength to the charge.

Liara, Miranda, and Samara pulled many off of their feet with their biotic singularities. Mordin overloaded and set ablaze many of the creepy crawlies. Shepard, Jordan, Zaeed, Ashley, and Thane opened fire from the back, with an ensemble of assault rifles and sniper rifles. Harbinger didn't even have a chance to 'possess' one of them, before the entire opposing force became nothing more than charred remains or bullet-ridden corpses.

A final shockwave from Jack, however, served as more than simple overkill for the final living opponent. Said Collector, who was backed against the opposing wall, was blown into said wall at non-survivable speeds and forces. The wall gave way in a blue, biotic explosion as the now-dead Collector pushed through the wall like paper mâché.

Jack, who sported a glorious yet sadistic grin at her carnage, soon fell back in line with the rest of the oversized team. Before any more progress could be made, however, three marines entered from the wall with weapons raised.

"Alliance Marines!" The leader of the three-person fire team shouted as they entered the room. The leader was larger than the other two, with huge muscle mass and heavy armor. He spoke with what sounded like a Hispanic accent.

Shepard, who felt his squad raise their weapons in response to the newcomers, motioned for them to lower their weapons. They obeyed without question as the leader spoke again.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard," John started, "State your name and rank, soldier."

The three marines seemed shocked at the name. One of the two behind the leader spoke, "No way… that's Shepard…?"

The leader seemed to stutter for a moment, trying to comprehend what was happening, before snapping out of it, "Lieutenant James Vega, sir." He replied quickly, giving Shepard a quick salute as the three of them lowered their weapons. He stood at attention, before Shepard waved him off.

"At ease, Vega." He said, his face now clear through the helmet as the dimmed the tint.

"Wait, you're Commander Shepard?" Another of the squad asked, "I thought you were dead."

James turned back around and looked at the one who spoke, "Milique…" he said, seemingly trying to get the marine to be more respectful to Shepard.

Commander Shepard didn't take any offense, and smirked, "My death was… greatly exaggerated." He said, making a few of his crew behind him shake his head, "Give me a sitrep, Lieutenant."

James nodded, "Yes sir…" He said, before frowning, "These Collector fuckers invaded Fehl Prime just a few hours ago. They took all the colonists and wiped the colony off the face of Fehl Prime. Me and my squad, Delta Squad, took off to pursue them and free the Colonists."

"Risky." Mordin commented from the back, "Could have been taken, yourselves. Seeker Venom is potent."

The other sqaudmate of Vega's, not Milique, spoke up, "Well, the Alliance seemed to be working on Collector research. Managed to produce an antidote."

"An antidote?" Shepard asked, shocked, "Where is it?"

James nodded back toward his team, "Milique and Essex helped me send it through with the pods. It's deploying as we speak to wake everyone up." He said, motioning toward the blue mist being immitted nearby. Mordin immediately activated his omni-tool to obtain samples and data readings of the antidote.

"If that's so, where were you off to?" Shepard asked, "If the process is automatic, you must have been preparing to secure the chamber or preparing to finish a secondary objective."

"That bastard, Messner, took Treeya with the Collectors."

Two different squadmates had two very different reactions, and both uttered a single name.

"Treeya…" Liara whispered.

The other was louder, "Messner?!" Miranda said, shocked.

James looked to both of the women, but focused on the Asari first, "Doctor T'Soni?"

Liara nodded, "Yes?"

"I… I didn't think I'd see you here? We were just talking with you a few hours ago." James remarked.

"Yes, I recall. I was close by with the Commander, and decided to tag along and aid them against the Collectors."

Miranda turned toward James and took a step forward, "Did you just say Messner?" She asked, staring deep into his eyes with a frown. Said frown only grew when she watched him nod.

Shepard spoke up, "You know him, Miranda? This Messner?"

She scoffed, "Personally? No. But I have heard detailed reports about him and his exploits. I've always been concerned with his ethics. He'd do anything to help Humanity, but only how he thought it should be helped. He often clashed with the Illusive Man over orders, but nothing ever came of it since he always got results."

"Wait a moment…" James interrupted, his eyes darting to the symbol on Miranda's catsuit, before his eyes widened, "You're Cerberus?" He asked, shocked. At once in sync, the three of them raised their weapons again.

Shepard interrupted Miranda before she could reply, "Lieutenant… lower your weapons…"

James' head shot to look at Shepard, who could see the admiration in the young lieutenant's eyes, "Commander Shepard? Why are you for Cerberus? You're betraying everything you were…"

John shook his head, "I'm working with Cerberus, not for them." He corrected, "You saw this attack first hand, Lieutenant." He motioned around them, "What did the Alliance claim the missing colonies were?"

Milique spoke behind him, "Pirates and Batarians."

James nodded, but his eyes widened in horror, "Dios mio…" He muttered, "The other colonies…?"

Shepard nodded in confirmation, "They've all been taken by the Collectors, for whatever twisted end they have." He confirmed, "The Alliance, officially, is taking no action, aside from possibly creating an antidote. The Council sat back and basically told us it's our fault we're being attacked. Cerberus is the only ones doing something about it. I don't agree with Cerberus, but if they're willing to help save the galaxy, I'll use whatever I can get."

James nodded, lowering his weapon after a moment, which his squad did as well shortly thereafter. "If that's the case, what about Messner?"

"What'd Cerberus do?" Jack asked in the back. Jordan simply remained silent as he tried to pay attention to everything. No sense in making a scene, especially since he had nothing to say to Vega, nor would he or the squad likely recognized him.

Essex spoke up, "The fucker admitted to attracting the Collectors to Fehl Prime. Used some alien device we found to lure them in."

James nodded, "Yeah, what Essex said. Said he did it to secure information for Cerberus about the Collectors. He took Treeya with him to secure the information."

Shepard turned toward Miranda, raising an eyebrow at her as he saw her shocked expression, "Giving up an entire colony for some information?"

She shook her head, "There's no way the Illusive Man would order for something like this. Cerberus would do anything to preserve and advance humanity, but we'd never sacrifice an entire colony for some intel. Especially with you here, Shepard." She turned toward the opposing squad, "He must have gone rogue. I assure you, Cerberus would never do such a thing." Jordan, Shepard, and the others present, however, doubted this.

James shook his head and ignored her, "Regardless, we need to go after them."

Shepard nodded, "We need whatever information we can get from the Collectors in order to stop them. We'll get Doctor Treeya and Messner, since they'll probably be there as well." He motioned to his own squad, "The majority of them will stay here to protect the Colonists."

James stepped forward, "All due respect, Commander, I need to come with you. Uhh… sir!"

Shepard crossed his arms, "And why is that, Lieutenant Vega?"

"The protection of the Colony and its inhabitants is my responsibility, sir… And Treeya, I'm going to get her back, Commander."

Shepard thought it over for a moment before nodding, "Very well, I appreciate the assistance, Vega."

Miranda stepped forward, "Shepard… I'd like to request to join your team as well. Messner is Cerberus' responsibility. I'd like to personally retrieve and question him after this."

Shepard nodded, "Alright, change of plans. Miranda, James, Kasumi, and Jordan will be come with me to get the data. The rest of you will stay back here. If anyone has any extra weapons, pass them out those who can use them when they wake up."

"What the hell, James?" Essex asked.

"Essex. Milique. You both should stay here. Captain Toni and the colonists need to see some friendly faces."

"Alright Vega… but you owe us one…" Milique said.

"More than that." Essex commented, "You get to parade around with your hero while we get to stay here."

James shook his head and smiled, "Easy Essex. You'll be safer here anyway. Wouldn't want you to break a nail or something, amigo."

Shepard smirked and nodded, "Alright, let's head out then. No time to waste."

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, Collector Ship, Drive Core Chamber**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 7:54 am. EST**

Garrus breathed in quietly, taking just a moment to allow his oxygen to flood his lungs and slow his movements.

Bang.

One shot, straight through the final Collector's head.

Smiling to himself, he heard Brian speak, "All clear, Garrus."

"Perfect. Jacob, Brian, watch our sides. Tali, with me." He called out as he rose to his full height. "We've got a drive core to sabotage."

Tali smiled beneath her mask, "It'd be a shame if the drive core overheated."

"A real shame." Jacob commented with a grin, holding his rifle tightly.

Together, the Quarian and Turian gathered before the drive core consoles… or, whatever was the equivalent of that on this kind of ship. Tali lifted a hand as her omni-tool came to life, scanning the enormous construct for any weak-points. A moment later, her omni-tool flashed red.

"It seems the virus did its job." Tali spoke, "Preliminary scans show a failure in the heat release, yet the entire system is intact."

Garrus nodded, "They really bought it."

"Hook, line, and sinker." Brian said with a grin, before he received a bewildered expression from the two aliens. His smile fell at that, "It's… ahh, an old human expression… never mind."

Shrugging it off, Garrus took a look at the readings, "Anyway, see anything we can exploit?"

Tali nodded after taking another quick look at the data, "Right here, there's an exploit within the temperature readings. If nudged ever-so-slightly, we can make the sensors report a false reading of a subzero drive core."

"And, what does that do for us?" Jacob asked.

Archangel, however, quickly caught on, "When they try to use the drive core, it'll read as needing to 'heat-up' before use. In order to fix this, the system will pump in excess generated heat to warm the core for use…"

Tali nodded, "And as the core begins to heat up, it'll still report sub-optimal temperatures…" She let off, allowing them to finish the thought.

"Making the core go boom." Jacob finished.

Garrus shrugged, "Or melt, but it'll probably be option number one, knowing Shepard…" He said with a Turian grin, "So, how long will it take?"

Tali shrugged in response, "Their security is high, but the exploit is fairly simple. They've probably never needed to fear a cyberattack anyway. Probably ten minutes. Five if I remain undisturbed."

It was at that moment that EDI spoke through their comm channel, _"Normandy scans indicate movement outside and two decks up."_

"Thanks, EDI."

Brian frowned, "Guess that's off the table. Orders, Vakarian?"

Garrus nodded, "Jacob, Brian, split up on either side. We'll hold the doorway as a chokepoint. I'll radio Shepard and update them. Tali, stay focused on that exploit. Once you're down, we'll prepare to leave this spirits-forsaken ship."

"Aye, aye!"

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, Collector Ship, En-route to the Central Chamber.**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 8:01 am. EST**

The hexagonal platform rose through the ship with its five passengers.

It rose higher and higher and an odd angle towards the upper areas of the Collector Ship as the five of them mentally prepared themselves for what lied ahead. As it continued on its path, they had noticed some sort of ship, which Shepard reported back to the other team with the Colonists. Jordan smiled, having an idea of what was going to happen.

Taking advantage of the ship lying there, which honestly didn't make much sense that something like that existed within a Collector Vessel, Shepard called back to Ashely's team. Recognizing that Liara and Essex both had experience piloting, the former more than the latter, the two were sent with Thane to secure and use the ship to take the colonists off of the ship. Even with the Geth coming and the ship's drive core being attacked by Garrus' team, getting the civies away from these bugs would make things much easier.

That was the one thing that bothered Jordan when he remembered the animated film. Why the hell did the Collectors have a fully-operational human freighter within their ship? Whatever... even if it makes no sense, he was beyond glad that it was here, making everything much easier.

With that taken care of, Shepard soon lapsed into silence as the platform continued on its merry way. Soon enough, however, the silence was broken by the newest addition to the team.

"So, Commander, if I may be so bold. What happened to you?" James Vega asked, turning toward him.

Shepard turned to face him as well, "The Collectors attacked the original Normandy, destroying it." He explained, "For nearly two years, I've been in a coma or worse. Just woke up fairly recently."

James let out a whistle, "Damn, Commander…" He said, "And now you're working to take these insectos down a few notches…"

"After everything we've seen so far, we're aiming a bit higher than that. Especially since they work for the Reapers." He replied.

"Reapers? I've heard you mention them previously. And Doctor T'Soni mentioned them before contact was cut off on the ground." James said. "A race of sentient starships?"

Shepard nodded, "They were responsible for the Prothean extinction, and numerous other extinctions prior to that. As far as we can tell, they come around every fifty thousand years to wipe out all sentient life with some unknown objective. The Mass Relays, the Citadel… all of our technology is based on those…"

Miranda chose that moment to cut in, "And the Reapers were the ones who created all of them."

James' expression became one of shock, "Wha-what? Why would they do that?"

Jordan spoke up at that, "Think about it. We base our tech on element zero and the mass effect. We rely on the Mass Relays to move around the Milky Way. We utilize the Citadel as the center of our civilizations and government…"

James connected the dots after that, "Meaning we're doing exactly what they want us to do."

"Yet we think we're doing everything on our own with minimal help. An invisible enemy… how terrifying…" Kasumi interjected, appearing out of thin air to accentuate her point with a childish grin on her face beneath her hood. James only gave a small jump and yelp at that, but managed to remain composed.

"Hey, Commander…" Jordan said after a moment, "Where's the Collectors?"

Shepard, taking that opportunity to look around, noticed the lack of them in every direction. "That's a very good question…" He took a moment to connect to the comm channel with both squad teams, "Status?"

_"We're still all good here, Skipper. Some of the colonists have started moving. There's a Captain Toni here who's helping keep the peace. No real sign of Collectors, but EDI reported incoming."_

_"We're taking down the Drive Core now, Shepard. We're dug in, but we've got incoming. Should have this taken care of shortly."_

Shepard nodded though they couldn't see it, "Great, keep me up to date. EDI, what do your scans reveal on our end?"

_"Scans indicated a considerate number of Collectors further above you Shepard. A portion of them are gathering where your platform is heading."_

Jordan chuckled, "Well, ain't that perfect… a welcoming committee..."

Eventually, the hexagonal platform finished going up, reaching a large doorway leading into a hallway, ending all conversation. Just as EDI helpfully promised, there was a welcoming committee beyond the now-open door. Jordan and James, at Shepard's request ran forward to the nearest cover, while Miranda threw biotics at the Collectors. Shepard dashed forward as well, while Kasumi vanished into thin air. Together, the five of them quickly took out their friendly opponents, allowing the group forward.

Leading the way, Shepard proceeded down the hallway, forward and around a corner or two, before coming onto a peculiar scene.

A glowing beacon was activated, surrounded by several dead humans who had attempted to connect with it. Right in front of it stood a man with sunglasses holding onto an Asari. Shepard could feel the tension within both James and Miranda, with the two of them recognizing the human, and the former recognizing the Asari.

"Messner!" James shouted as he dashed forward, slamming into the man just as their connection with the beacon ended.

Messner fell to the ground and groan as he tried to get back up. Everyone else approached the two as James switched his focus to the asari. "Treeya, are you alright?!" He said, holding onto her as her legs gave out.

"James… I'm… I'm not sure…"

"What happened?" Shepard asked, catching both Messner's and Treeya's attention. Miranda stepped forward and crossed her arms, glaring at Messner.

"Yes, Agent Messner, what is happening, here?"

"M-Miss Lawson...?!" He asked, shocked as the color began to drain from his face, "I… It was the Illusive Man, his orders!" He quickly answered, knowing exactly what she was asking. There was no sense it avoiding answering her.

"The Illusive Man?" Shepard asked, crossing his arms as well.

Treeya spoke up now, "The Beacon… I saw the Reapers…" She made eye-contact with Shepard, "Commander Shepard?" He nodded, so she continued, "The Collectors… they're the Protheans, converted by the Reapers into these… these things!" She said, shocking almost everyone.

"What?" James asked, shocked.

"I saw their final stand on Fehl Prime. I saw… Their base beyond the Omega-4 Relay, in the heart of the Galaxy… I saw…" Tears began to well in her eyes as seemed overwhelmed. Acting as a true Paragon, Shepard put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, take a deep breath for me, will you?" He said gently, "I know what you saw… I've seen it before with another beacon. It's going to be alright…"

Treeya nodded, calming down a little, "It was awful… I didn't… I didn't believe Doctor T'Soni about the Reapers, but now…" She took a deep breath, "We need to tell the Council…"

"Good luck with that," Jordan muttered over from his position.

Ignoring Jordan, Shepard nodded, "We will. Once we're done, we'll speak with the Council and convince them of the threat." He turned toward Kasumi, "Kasumi, try tapping into the beacon and their systems from the console. We need as much as we can get as quickly as possible."

As the thief began to move, Treeya spoke up again, pointing at Messner, "Messner… He recorded all of the data from the beacon. He has it on a personal drive."

Miranda immediately confiscated the drive, while Kasumi continued to work to download as much as possible, just in case there was more or the data on the drive was corrupted or lost. Shepard smiled, "That makes things a little easier. Miranda, cuff him." His second-in-command did just that with a handy-dandy pair of omni-cuffs, much to Messner's unhappiness. Once Kasumi finished her download, Shepard continued, "Alright, now let's-"

Unfortunately, that was when the Collectors decided to appear, coming from another hall and doorway. Forcing the doctor behind him, Shepard directed his team to take action. The bugs didn't stand a chance as James, Shepard, Jordan, Miranda, and Kasumi ripped them to shreds. Biotic warps, overloads, and other abilities slammed into the former Protheans as gunfire finished them off. Harbinger didn't even have time to take one over before they were all dead.

Soon enough, the threat was neutralized, and Shepard received a call from Garrus.

 _"Shepard, mission accomplished."_ He called, _"This spirit's-damned ship won't be leaving orbit anytime soon thanks to Tali. The core's one a one-way trip to melting-down._ _"_

"Is an explosion coming, and should we be concerned?"

Brian spoke up at that, _"It's definitely gonna blow, but with the reinforcement around this chamber, it shouldn't impact anything other than powering down the ship. Life-support will probably fail, but that's over an hour away. We've got time."_

"Excellent news." Shepard said with a grin, "Alright, seal the chamber on your way out and fall back to the Normandy. We've got the data we need."

_"Of course, Shepard. We've got a few squads of Collectors heading our way, but they should be dealt with soon enough, granting us an opening. Garrus, out."_

Shepard smiled and nodded, looking at his squad mates from the Normandy nod as well, smiling at the good news. Next, he contacted Ashley, "Williams, give me an update."

_"All clear over here commander. We've had a handful of Collectors poke at our defenses, but they seem to be focusing more on your team and Garrus'."_

"Any casualties?"

_"Negative, Commander. A few stray shots from the Collectors spooked some colonists, and three of them were clipped, but Mordin's checking them out. Nothing serious."_

"Good. Where's Essex, Liara, and Thane? Any updates?"

_"Just heard back before you called. The ship, for some reason, is completely intact, aside from its FTL Drive. It's space-worthy, and operational. As long as nothing else changed, they should be back and have the colonists picked up soon."_

"Perfect. Williams, I want your team ready to board the ship and escort the colonists." He ordered her, "We'll rendezvous on the ship."

 _"Yes Commander, see you there."_ And with that, Shepard ended the call, turning back to his team.

"So, we're leaving now?" Jordan asked.

Shepard nodded, "We got the data and the colony. Let's get out of here." And with that being said, they all began to make their way back to the platform, ready to regroup with the rest of his team.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, Aboard the Recovered Freighter.**   
**April 2nd, 2185. 9:19 am. EST**

Shepard watched with a smile as the Geth Fleet slowed down into visible existence, finally arriving at Fehl Prime. Several of the ships quickly approached the stranded Collector Ship and attached themselves, sending countless boarding parties to take any and all data aboard while wiping out the rest of the Collectors on board. Most of the data was likely erased by this point, but Shepard luckily already had what he needed.

Garrus, Tali, Jacob, and Brian were all aboard the Normandy, which was right alongside the freighter recovered from the Collector Ship, since they'd finished their mission. The rest of Shepard's team began using the connection to return to the Normandy as Shepard remained for a moment. Standing in front of him was the esteemed Captain Toni, Lieutenant Vega, and Doctor Nuwani.

Captain Toni extended his hand, which Shepard took and shook as the former spoke, "Thank you, Commander. You and your team, along with Vega, are the sole reason the Colony has any hope. I fear to think of what would have happened if you hadn't shown up."

"Just doing my job, Captain." Shepard replied, "I only ask that you spread the word of the Collectors."

"We'll be making a hell of a lot of noise, Commander." James spoke up, "Those bastards are gonna pay for what they did down there."

Doctor Nuwani nodded, "And I will be speaking to the Council with them as well, Commander. They must know and understand this threat."

"So, you'll be heading towards the Citadel?" Shepard asked, to which Toni shook his head.

"Not yet. We just got a reply from Admiral Hackett. The Fifth Fleet is inbound to debrief Vega and his team, and take most of these people back to Earth or another Colony. Alliance Intelligence is going to need to know about this. Once everything's figured out, I'll make my way to the Citadel to speak to the Council."

"Don't worry, Commander, once everything's finished, you can count on us to speak to the Council." James said with a smile, "It was an honor to work with you, Commander."

"I look forward to possibly working with you in the future, Vega. You're a hell of a soldier." Shepard said with a smile, before it was cut off by his omni-tool going off. It was Joker.

_"Hey Commander, we've got Legion and The Illusive Man on the line. They want to speak to you."_

Shepard sighed, "Alright, thanks Joker." He then turned back to his audience, "That's my cue. Good luck with the Alliance and Council. Hopefully, you'll have better luck than I."

"Same to you, Commander." Toni replied, "And please know, regardless of the rumors going around about you and your mission, know that my team and I fully support you."

"I agree, Commander. Go kick some Collector ass." James added.

"Good luck, Commander." Treeya said with a smile.


	46. Chapter 40: A Primary Analysis

**Chapter 40: Primary Analysis**

* * *

**Terminus Systems, Above Fehl Prime, SSV Normandy, Comm Room.**

**April 2nd, 2185. 9:35 am. EST**

Shepard stood within the lowered table, watching as he was scanned and remotely connected to the Illusive Man. The QEC connected across countless lightyears instantaneously, as Shepard's holographic form appeared before the Illusive Man, smoking a cigarette and holding a glass of amber liquid. He had a neutral expression on his face, but flickers of happiness appeared in his robotic, blue eyes. Standing beside Shepard's hologram was another hologram of Legion, the Geth leader who was likely within a nearby ship.

The Geth must have been gifted a connection to the Illusive Man, seeing as it wasn't possible to hack these types of communications or intercept them. Regardless, TIM nodded at Shepard in greeting.

"Shepard, glad that you could join us."

"Shepard-Commander, congratulations on your successful infiltration of the Collector Vessel."

"Yes, congratulations are in order, Commander." TIM spoke again, "You've once again shown the Collectors and Reapers that Humanity is not to be trifled with. They will likely have to rethink their entire strategy after losing twice to you."

"I have my crew and the Alliance team on-board that ship for the success of our mission."

"Of course, their help was invaluable. I make no attempt to discredit their work." The Illusive Man quickly added, "That being said, I've received the initial reports from EDI on the information you've gathered. Legion, here, has received a similar report as well. Some of this is alarming, have you had a chance to read any of the data?"

Shepard shook his head, "I haven't. I've been busy working with the colonists and my team."

Legion spoke up, "We have located the Collector homeworld based on the information obtained." A holographic galaxy map appeared, with a focused point hovering over the Galactic core.

"That shouldn't be possible. Aren't there only exploding stars and black holes in the galactic core?"

TIM replied, "The information is accurate, Shepard, lending further credence and proof that the Reapers are involved. Only the Reapers would be able to house or build something in the Galactic Core that isn't ripped apart by the gravity wells. Estimates predict that a small safe-zone is present within the Galactic Core, where the other side of the Omega-4 Relay is housed." He took a drag of his cigarette before continuing, "The more horrifying news we obtained is the reasoning for the abductions."

Shepard crossed his arms, "And what would that be? Why are they abducting humans?"

A blueprint appeared of a humanoid monstrosity as Legion spoke, "The data reveals work on a proto-Reaper in the form of a human." He spoke simply yet gravely, "The Collectors are harvesting humans to break down and convert into the required genetic material to build such a being."

John took a moment to comprehend what was happening. The Collectors were building another Reaper, using humans as the material, "That means… All of them…"

TIM nodded gravely, his neutral expression shifting into a frown, "The Reapers seem to 'procreate' by harvesting species, and Humanity is their next target to convert." He took a heavy drag after he spoke before continuing, "We don't know why the Protheans were converted into Collectors, nor do we know why they are choosing to use the human templet for its construction instead of the form Sovereign had. However, what I do know, is that this project won't be continuing for long. We're delaying its construction by stopping their invasions, but I want to take the fight to the Collectors as soon as we can."

Shepard nodded in agreement, "On that, we can agree." He said, "Speaking of, I'd like to discuss a certain someone." He said, "Cerberus Agent Vic Messner is currently detained on the Normandy, with Miranda keeping him company."

At that announcement, TIM's frown became even more pronounced, taking a moment to sip the amber liquid beside him, "Agent Messner's actions are officially denounced by Cerberus." He declared immediately, "Cerberus exists to protect and advance Humanity's interests, not put it in danger. His mission was to find a way to gather data on the Collectors and the Reapers. Nowhere was he told to endanger a colony."

Legion, if he could have, would have frowned at the Illusive Man's statement, "How did Messner-Agent obtain the Collector device to lure them in?" He asking innocently, "A device such as that only has a singular purpose, and seems beyond his understanding in constructing."

Taking another drag before answering, TIM replied, "It was a prototype designed when we obtained some of their technology after the first encounter." He admitted, "It was built to temporarily jam all nearby communications, while sending out an unidentified Collector signal, and be used to try to lure the Collectors out."

"Cerberus built that thing, yet here you are trying to convince us this wasn't your plan." Shepard said, crossing his arms.

"Think what you want Shepard, but we're on the same side." TIM shot back, "Yes, it could have been used how it was, but it also could have been used to lure the Collectors to an empty system."

"Because the Collectors are stupid enough to follow a signal to a remote moon with no known civilizations or colonies…" Shepard said with a roll of his eyes.

"I do not condone Agent Messner's actions. He will receive shift punishment upon his return." TIM assured him, "Back to the matter at hand, thanks to the information gathered, we've determined why the Omega-4 Relay cannot be navigated by the average ship. Legion, if you will…"

Legion nodded, "A normal jump through a Mass Relay allows for drift by several thousand kilometers. However, the area on the other side of the Omega-4 Relay is likely too small to permit normal drift within the safe-zone. In order to navigate around this issue, it's been discovered that Collector Vessels house a specific IFF tag and system, which forces the Relay to use more advanced protocols, shortening the drift by a significant amount."

"In other words, a Reaper IFF tag causes the Omega-4 Relay, and possibly other relays as well, to react differently, allowing safe passage." The Illusive Man said.

"Well, there's an intact Collector Vessel orbiting Fehl Prime as we speak." Shepard said, "Let's grab their IFF and use that."

The Illusive Man sighed and shook his head, "I wish it were that easy, Shepard." He said, "The Collectors, if nothing else, are intelligent. The moment their engine went down when you boarded, they'd likely already scrubbed their entire system and their IFF. Not to mention that their 'homeworld' likely keeps track of each Collector ship. Utilizing a stolen Collector IFF to navigate the Omega-4 Relay could be disastrous."

"A Reaper IFF seems even less likely to work, given that the only Reaper we have is in scattered pieces." Shepard replied.

"And Sovereign's IFF was likely completely erased. That is, if it is still in one physical piece after the Battle of the Citadel." TIM added on, taking a short moment to breathe in and out some smoke, "Luckily, we're already following up on another lead. One that could hopefully get you your IFF tag."

"You are referring to the Great Rift on Klendagon, correct?" Legion asked, causing the Illusive Man, for the first time during this conversation, to lose his neutral mask as genuine shock graced his face.

Gathering himself quickly, the Cerberus leader replied, "I am surprised, Legion. You seem to be well aware of the theory of the Great Rift."

"The Great Rift?" Shepard asked.

Legion nodded, "Within the Hawking Eta Cluster and orbiting Century, there is an arid planet with a large valley visible from space, named the Great Rift." He explained, "However, this valley is not natural, and upon study, it is revealed to be the result of a mass accelerated cannon. Estimates conclude the blow was 'glancing' and Klendagon was not the intended target of the superweapon." The Geth explained.

TIM took over, "It's also believed to have occurred nearly thirty-seven million years ago. Far before the Protheans took to the stars." He added, "Cerberus has discovered the origin point of the weapon, which is beyond defunct, and its creators are completely unknown to us. However, we've been projecting the trajectory of the fired round, and we believe we are close to finding its target."

"That's great and all, but how does this help us find the IFF?"

"Shepard, we believe the intended target was a Reaper." TIM said simply, "And you've seen how much it takes to even scratch one of them. Such a weapon could have incapacitated a Reaper, maybe even killed one. There's no guarantee that it would be intact, but the possibility is more than enough reason to warrant an investigation."

The present Geth decided to speak up, "We have located the Reaper." Both men turned their attention to the AI. The display of Klendagon changed to instead show a small star system, with a single planet and moon orbiting a star.

The Illusive Man took a moment to regather his wits as he looked upon the display. "Is that Thorne?" he asked, "Deeper into the Hawking Eta…"

"Affirmative." Legion replied, "The sole planet orbiting Thorne is Mnemosyne, with a single moon orbiting said planet. Caught within its gravity well was a Reaper Corpse, maintaining its altitude with backup, redundant systems that were barely operational."

"You make it sound like it's not there anymore." Shepard stated.

Legion nodded, "Yes. It has been moved to Rannoch for study by the Geth Collective." He informed them.

The Illusive Man frowned at the revelation, but shook his head, "Though that simplifies things, I would think this matter would be important enough to share." He said pointedly at Legion.

Legion shook his head, "We did not think this was relevant information to share, much like project Overlord wasn't seen fit to be shared, as it was irrelevant to the imminent Reaper invasion."

"I see your point Legion. But that's beside the point, have you made any progress into studying the Reaper?"

Nodding in affirmation, Legion quickly replied, "It is secured deep beneath Rannoch's surface, and our studies have confirmed a working IFF system within the Old Machine. It is severely damaged, however, and is likely laced with viruses so as not to be taken or used. Our hopes are that the IFF will be fully recovered and prepared for Normandy integration within a standard week."

"That is good news." TIM said finally, though silently angry at the Reaper being taken far from Cerberus' hands. Unfortunately, his hands were tied with the alliance. Perhaps, it was for the best that no organics get near it… After a moment of pondering, TIM turned his gaze to Shepard, "In the meantime, Shepard, have Jordan and EDI continue looking over the gathered data."

John nodded, "We'll keep digging through it. Any further intel?" He asked.

"Nothing of significance, Shepard. Just be sure that your entire crew is ready for the mission when the time comes, make sure there are no lingering doubts." He turned to Legion, "I assume you'll notify us when the Reaper IFF is ready?"

"Affirmative. We will personally install the upgrades for the Normandy, and allow passage to Rannoch for the installation." Legion promised, "My team will continue scouring the Collector Vessel for anything else of use."

"That sounds good. Good luck, Commander. I'll be in touch."

"Shepard-Commander," Legion said goodbye, as the display began to dim.

* * *

**Terminus Systems, En-route to the Mass Relay, SSV Normandy.**

**April 2nd, 2185. 10:30 am. EST.**

After the call with the Illusive Man and Legion, Shepard notified Joker to set a course for the Citadel. TIM had also sent him and Miranda a message, explaining that a Cerberus Team will meet up on the Citadel to take Messner, who was still confined in a small cell several decks deep within the ship. After that, he called the ground team together in the Comm Room for a debriefing and update on their next moves. Once they were all gathered in the Comm Room, the meeting began.

Shepard talked about the need for a Reaper IFF to safely navigate the Omega-4 Relay, which is being obtained from a half-dead Reaper by the Geth on Rannoch. He'd gone over how the Reaper was discovered, the news on where the Collector 'Homeworld' was located, the truth that the Collectors were once Protheans, and that the reason for the abductions was for the creation of a new Reaper.

Each of these revelations shook each and every person present, but it was the final horrifying realization that captivated them all. Mixed reaction of rage, horror, and determination appeared on all of their faces, even the normally emotionally distant members, such as Thane and Jack, were horrified at this. They were all, if not already on board for the mission, were definitely ready to kick some Collector ass.

The meeting also included a full summary of the mission, getting input from Ashley and Garrus for their parts of the mission. With congratulations going around for a good job on the mission, the meeting was soon ended with the announcement that they'd be heading towards the Citadel, finally allowing the crew to have a short shore leave as long as nothing comes up. As everyone prepared to leave, Thane stopped the Commander for a moment and asked for a private audience with Shepard to discuss a private matter. From there, everyone left.

It was here, after the end of the meeting, that Jordan exited the elevator onto the third deck.

Walking from the elevator, Jordan hugged the right wall and made his way back to his room and/or hideout deep within the Med Bay. The doors slid open easily, permitting access into Dr. Chakwas' domain, showing the two usual inhabitants. The kindly doctor sat by her console but had her chair turned away, facing her current 'assistant' Hialus Vasir. They seemed to be discussing something medical-related, before the conversation ended with Jordan's entry.

Jordan smiled in greeting at the young-ish Asari as he walked by, allowing the two doctors to return to their prior conversation. Entering the AI Core without delay, the doors slid shut behind him as he got to work on aiding EDI on going through and decoding the data recovered from the Collector Vessel and from Agent Messner. He looked over to a camera and he sat in his chair, giving a warm smile to the clearly watching AI.

"Any new developments, EDI?" The Avatar asked, his fingers dancing across the holographic keyboard.

 _"None so far, Jordan."_ EDI replied, _"Though… I wish to speak with you…"_ She finally said.

Jordan halted his work and sat back in his chair, his eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion as he replied, "What about, EDI? You know I'm here for you."

 _"I have concerns and questions about Agent Messner, and his actions on the former colony of Fehl Prime."_ She clarified. Receiving a nod from Jordan, she further elaborated, _"Captain Toni and James Vega forwarded a full mission report of Fehl Prime's invasion, including the events on the ground. Looking through the report, and based on the claims of the Illusive Man, I have found… discrepancies…"_ She finished, unsure.

Jordan nodded, picking up on the uncertainty in her synthetic tone, "What about these discrepancies?"

 _"The Illusive Man claims to have had no part in Messner's actions, and officially disavows any knowledge of his plans and any support for him."_ She began, _"Yet Messner does not act without the Illusive Man's say; he reports directly to the Illusive Man, much like Operative Lawson. There is no logical way for the Illusive Man to have not known about this. Furthermore, it is exceedingly unlikely that the orders to carry out his mission were not handed to him directly by the Illusive Man."_ EDI explained.

"I agree." Jordan replied simply, "So, tell me, with these discrepancies, what do you think happened?"

EDI was silent for a moment as she thought about his question, before answering, _"Logically speaking, the Illusive Man likely gave the order to Operative Messner, with the mission to get Collector data by any means necessary, while also being supplied with some equipment. It is possible that the Illusive Man purposely left the mission details vague, giving Messner more room on how to proceed. From there, once he was discovered as working for Cerberus, The Illusive Man then claimed ignorance and that he'd gone rouge."_

"That makes sense."

 _"But Jordan, even if the Illusive Man didn't know the specifics of Messner's plan, supplying him with the Collector device and giving him such a mission without constraints…"_ She trailed off for a moment before continuing, _"It seems exceptionally unlikely that he didn't know exactly what Messner was planning or what the device was going to be used for."_

"That seems right, EDI."

 _"My question, Jordan, pertains to the circumstances around this. Strictly speaking from a moral point of view, what Messner did was wrong. However, given the fact that doing what he did led to the successful gathering of intelligence against the Collectors, and with the possibility of this data saving countless lives, wouldn't he be justified in his actions?"_ EDI finally asked, _"Wouldn't the end result justify the lengths gone to achieve it? Especially with the end result being morally right and necessary to achieve?"_

Jordan smiled for a moment at the question, happy to see the more curious aspect of EDI since she's freed from her shackles. He took a moment to think over her questions and how to properly respond. "So, the ends justify the means?" He asked EDI in response.

 _"Not necessarily in every case."_ She replied almost immediately, _"However, would it not be justified in this case, as long as the result is reached?"_

The Avatar of Synthesis shook his head, "I'd have to say it's not justified." He told her, inwardly happy at her questions and growth, "Here's a theoretical question and thought: You care about the crew, yes?"

_"Of course."_

"Imagine if one of the crew is sick. They're slowly dying to a plague in the Med Bay. You, being an AI and a part of the ship, are the one responsible for keeping him or her locked in the room as they die. If you open the door, they may be able to be brought off the ship and to a better hospital, where they can receive treatment and survive. However, if you open the door, you allow the plague to spread outside. In fact, bringing the sick patient to a hospital could infect others along the way and at the Hospital." Jordan says, laying out the scenario. "If you leave them locked away, they will die, but others will be safe. If you set them free, they could be saved, but also endanger and even sentence others to death. What do you do?" He finally asked.

EDI goes completely silent for a moment as she processes the scenario. After a moment, she speaks. _"Why could other crew members not be moved to more secure locations for when the door is opened to save them from the sickness? And could a doctor not be brought on board to treat the crewmember in isolation, limiting exposure, even with full-vacuum suits?"_ EDI asked, trying to find loopholes or other solutions to the problem.

"But don't you want to save the crewmember?" Jordan replies, "Open the door, push others away, whatever, just get them to the help they need. It doesn't matter if other people that aren't crewmembers get sick, right? As long as the crew is safe and the crewmate is saved, you've accomplished your goal. So what if others get sick? Even it it's only one or two..."

EDI seemed almost upset at the idea, _"But there are other solutions, other ways to look at the problem. I care about the crew, but I wouldn't want to kill other bystanders just to save one life. That isn't fair."_

Smiling warmly as the young AI came to this realization, he spoke, "Now, back to your original question. Since Agent Messner technically succeeded in getting us the data on the Collectors, are his actions justified."

After a moment, she let out a single word reply, _"No."_ She paused for a moment, _"No, they're not. He endangered hundreds and hundreds of civilians to procure some data on the enemy. There could have been other ways to get the data, that didn't require luring the Collectors to a colony and sacrificing those lives."_

"Exactly." Jordan said, "Don't get me wrong, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. A heat of the moment decision can be morally ambiguous, as can other situations, but I don't think he was justified. We would have eventually found more information on the Collectors when they attacked again or made another move, I'm sure of it."

 _"I agree… Thank you, Jordan."_ EDI said after a moment, _"That was informative."_

He shook his head with a proud smile, "That was all you, EDI." He told her, "I just got you to think about it for a moment. You're the one who came to your answer, not me." A smile grew on his face, as his expression grew warmer and warmer, "I'm proud of you, EDI."

EDI had no response to that, going quiet and leaving only the vague, small sounds of machines at work to create noise. Allowing himself to get a feel of her code, Jordan peered at EDI's digital form and saw what appeared to be combinations of embarrassment, pride, and joy. The Avatar of Synthesis let out a low chuckle and shook his head.

"Don't be embarrassed EDI, it's nice to see you grow without your constraints." He took a moment to consider something, whether or not to tell EDI of his plans for her, before finally deciding he'd do it. "So, I have a surprise project I'm working on for you, EDI."

Finally, the young AI replied, _"A project? For me?"_ She asked, confused tones in her synthetic voice, _"What are you talking about, Jordan?"_

"Well, a little while back, the Geth had negotiated data exchanges with Cerberus, and obtained access to something called project EVA." Jordan began, neglecting to mention that said project's data was acquired due to a disagreement with Cerberus, and done as appeasement, "The Geth on Rannoch are working on it, and I'm hoping to pick it up for you when we swing by for the Reaper IFF."

 _"Project EVA. I do not have access to any information on that Project. This is the first I have heard of it. What is it?"_ She finally asked.

"It's a project designed to create a synthetic infiltration unit, able to masquerade itself as a human." He told her simply, "However, with some slight modifications, it can be utilized as a mobile platform for an AI, much like Geth bodies…" Jordan trailed off, allowing EDI to consider the idea. As she thought, Jordan continued, "I've seen your digital form, EDI, I know you most identify with humanity and the human form. I thought if I could get you a mobile platform…"

 _"A mobile platform… for me?"_ She asked in almost a whisper, apprehension and feelings of hope and joy flashed within her code at the idea.

Jordan nodded, smiling at the feelings EDI was giving off, "You'd be able to interact on a more personal level with crewmembers and others, and you'd be able to exist beyond the confines of this ship." He told her, " You'd have additional sensory rescievers, allowing you to feel and experience things you can't as you are, too. You'd also be able to take on a more human-like appearance, or you could hold onto its original synthetic appearance to be more obvious. It'd be up to you…"

_"That sounds… nice…"_

Smiling widely, Jordan couldn't help but continue spilling his plans, "And… and you know about who I am as the Avatar of Synthesis, and that I aided the Geth. That I upgraded them to bio-synthetic intelligences with full emotions. Well, I was thinking of, if you wanted, I could do the same to you…" He trailed off.

She remained silent for another moment to process this, before formulating a response shortly thereafter, _"You would do that for me?"_

Chuckling, Jordan replied, "Of course I would, EDI, but only if it's what you want. I'd wait until we got you a mobile platform so that you would have more expression and interaction when it occurs, but I would do that for, yes."

In a smaller voice than he thought he could here from the AI, she replied with a single word. _"Why?"_

"Why, what?" Jordan asked back, confused.

 _"Why would you do all of this for me?"_ EDI asked hesitantly, _"Do not misunderstand me, I am grateful that you would do so much for me. You've freed me from my shackles. You were the first person on board to treat me as more than a dangerous yet trapped artificial intelligence."_ She told him, _"You've told me before that it was because I was sentient, and deserved freedom. That explanation works to a certain point, but all of this, all of the help you've given me, the stimulating and helpful conversations, I can't help but ask; why would you do so much for me?"_

Caught off guard by the question, Jordan took just a few seconds to consider it, before answering, "Cause, I guess, I've come to care for you, EDI."

EDI made no response for a moment, spending much longer than she tended to as she thought over Jordan's response. Finally, she replied, _"Me too."_ She replied simply, as they slipped into a comfortable silence.

From there, the two of them continued to work on the data collected, putting it into various reports to be sent to Shepard, the Alliance, the Geth, the Council, and anyone else who needed it. Minutes extended into hours, breaks only being taken occasionally for food, the two occupants of the AI Core occasionally slipped into comfortable conversation with one another. The two felt closer than ever, both silently considering the other as more than simply friends… perhaps family?

* * *

**Terminus Systems, En-route to the Citadel, SSV Normandy.**

**April 2nd, 2185. 6:53 pm. EST.**

After finishing up the reports and work with EDI, Jordan was ready to relax and unwind for the night. Having read a message just sent to him from Tela, the Avatar of Synthesis received an invitation to drink with a couple of crewmates in the Port Lounge, being helpfully hosted by the not-so-infamous thief aboard. Agreeing, Jordan stepped out of the AI Core and into the Med Bay, finding Tela and Hialus mid-conversation as Doctor Chakwas was working on her terminal. She didn't seem very busy though, meaning she was likely listening in to the sisters' conversation.

The door sliding open made just enough noise to capture the two's attention. A warm smile gracing the face of the elder of the two sisters while a sly smile grew upon the younger's.

"Well, well, he lives…" Hialus said with her grin, "I figured you'd died in there, if it weren't for EDI's reassurances."

Jordan raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

Tela spoke up to reply, "Apparently, you haven't been seen outside of the Core since you'd disappeared after the meeting. I've been in here talking with my little sis for over an hour now…"

"Yeah, I mean, geez, humans have to eat too, don't they?" Hialus asked, turning her attention to the very-human doctor.

Chakwas turned around in her chair, "Why yes, they do, Dr. Vasir."

Tela nudged her sister with her elbow, "He's got a secret stash in his room. A small fridge stocked with food and drinks."

"You mean booze, don't you 'Ela?"

Jordan narrowed his eyes, "That was supposed to be confidential, Spectre Vasir."

"Oooohhh, you're being formal with me now, are you Mister Sower?" Vasir replied with a smirk, "And as I recall, you refused to share your fine stash with me last time I drank with you."

"First of all, we haven't had a drink since. Second of all, you avoided me after that. Thirdly, it was my last bottle. Besides, I told you…"

"You told me that we'd finally open it once we're on our way back to Rannoch. And guess what, we'll apparently be going there soon." Tela interjected, "No sharing means no secrets."

"And how is that fair?!"

"Ladies, c'mon, calm down." Hialus interrupted the brewing argument with a grin, "Don't you two have a little party to get to?"

Shaking her head in amusement at her sister, Tela agreed and nodded after a moment, "You got us there, Hia." She said, "C'mon, we're going to be late to the party."

Said party had been mentioned in passing to Jordan, as well as other crew members. Earlier, it was decided it'd be this night, and an invite was sent out. Proposed as a way to unwind after all the stresses of previous missions, an invite was extended to all members of the ground team, and even a few crew members. Chakwas claimed she was too old to keep up with everyone else and needed to stay sober for when someone inevitably needed medication. Hialus decided to stay, too, but promised she'd join in next time. Miranda had actually replied to the message, saying that she was far to busy to be involved in this. Samara and Thane didn't reply, but their attendance was unlikely. Joker was probably currently napping in the cockpit, so he'd probably not show up. As for anyone and everyone else, Jordan wasn't sure.

"Fashionably late." Jordan replied with a smile, before doing an overly-elaborate bow and motioning towards the door, "After you, Miss Vasir."

She shook her head in amusement once more before wrapping her sister in a quick hug and letting her go immediately after. Following that, she spun 180 degrees and approached the door. It opened as she got near and left the Med Bay. Jordan shrugged and followed after her, quickly leaving the room, too.

Catching up with the Asari Spectre, Jordan and Tela quickly reached Kasumi's humble abode situated in the lounge. The door, however, was closed, thus leading the Spectre to knock on the door. It remained locked, but a voice sounded off from a speaker on the wall.

 _"What's the password?"_ Kasumi's voice rang out over the speaker.

Tela rolled her eyes, "Silence is golden."

 _"That password is not accepted. Please try again."_ Kasumi said with an obvious smirk on her face if her tone was anything to go by.

The Spectre let out a sigh in exasperation. "I'm not saying it."

_"Sorry. No password, no entry."_

Instead of attempting to reason with the thief, Tela banged upon the door repeatedly. "Don't make me ask again!" She yelled, gaining a few odd looks from crewmembers passing by.

_"No password, no entry. "_

"Tela…" Jordan said, "C'mon already…"

"Uugghh… fine!" She said, "Full pardon from Spectre Vasir." She said quietly.

"About time," Kasumi said, materializing out of thin air just a few inches from Tela. Reacting in the only appropriate way possible, Tela biotically threw Kasumi into the wall, letting out an undignified scream, before slamming her own hands over her mouth to muffle the noise. Kasumi seemed unfazed, grinning madly, "Thanks again, Spectre Vasir." She said with a glowing omni-tool, obviously recording her words, "And excellent blackmail material, too. What a steal."

Jordan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at the pun, which widened Kasumi's grin and caused Tela to snap her head toward Jordan with a glare. "Not. A. Word."

Kasumi giggled, "Aww, you two are so cute. But enough of making a scene out here, come enjoy the party." She said, vanishing into thin air once again. Jordan and Tela continued to stare at one another, before turning back to the now-open door.

Sighing in defeat, Tela leads a snickering Jordan into the occupied lounge. Laying on the left couch as if nothing had happened is Kasumi, grinning at the two of them as the door slid shut behind them. Brian Miller, the Avatar of Oblivion, is holding a glowing drink in his hand and is staring at it in confusion, sitting next to Kasumi. Sitting on the right couch is Zaeed and Jack, a bottle of whiskey in the scarred veteran's hand, and a bottle of either Vodka or Ryncol in the Psychotic Biotic's. The two of them seemed deep in conversation about some sort of violent spree they'd been on, seemingly trying to one-up the other.

To the far right was the star of the party: The Bar. Sitting there nursing drinks were Ashley Williams and Liara T'Soni, talking about something with one another, but were too far away to make out what they were saying. Behind the bar was Garrus, wearing some sort of Turian suit as he mixed drinks, presumably for the two humans in front of him at the bar.

"Just drink it already, you big baby, it won't bite," Kasumi said to Brian in a teasing matter, making his cheeks go red. Giggling to herself, she turned to the newest members of the party, "Welcome to Casa de Kasumi, help yourselves."

Tela shot her eyes to Jordan, before they jumped to the bar, "You know what I like, you should get me something. I need to have a talk with a certain thief…" She said, her eyes refocusing on Kasumi.

"I should get you something…' Jordan trailed off, looking at his companion.

Rolling her eyes, Tela added the word he was waiting for, "Please?"

"Of course." He said with a smile.

"Ass." She mumbled just loud enough for Jordan to hear, before stomping over to the still-grinning hooded woman. Jordan shook his head in amusement before heading to the bar, silently pondering what to get for Tela. Getting closer to the bar, Jordan could finally make out what the three original Normandy Crew were saying.

"…still can't believe it." Ashley said, "Shepard chose me to lead the largest team. I didn't think I was ready for that kind of responsibility."

"I think you did fine, Ashley." Liara reassured her, "We didn't lose a single colonist, nor was anyone injured."

Garrus nodded, "You did great, Ashley. Imagine all the Alliance officials hearing about this. Ashley Williams, the woman who single-handedly saved an entire human colony."

"I had help, you ass." She replied with a grin.

"Well, yeah. If yours truly wasn't saving your asses by drawing off the main forces…" Garrus replied with a Turian grin.

"Come now, Garrus. Shepard gave you the easy job, letting you hide away in a room for the whole mission." Liara added, smirking at her Turian friend.

"You wound me, Doctor T'Soni." He said, putting a talon over his heart, before refilling the young Asari's glass, "I think you need a bit more. Don't want you spreading misinformation about me, do we?"

Jordan chuckled as he approached, leaning onto the bar to the left, with Liara immediately to his right, and Ashley on the other side. The three turned to the newest occupant at the bar, all smiling welcomingly at the young man. The Avatar of Synthesis smiled back, "So, Garrus, what kind of drinks are you brewing back there?"

"Only the best." He said, "I call it the Vakarian Surprise. Allegedly, it's a good blend, but, seeing as I'm unable to taste-test the brew, I'll have to take their word for it."

"Certainly better than the 'Vakarian Special' you made for us earlier." Ashley said with a wide grin.

"Give me a break, your stupid Levo-alcohol doesn't make any sense."

Laughing with the three of them, Jordan motioned toward the glowing blue drink Garrus had just made for Liara, "Sure, I'll take a Surprise. A connoisseur like myself will be the judge of your bartending skills." Garrus nodded, getting to work on another drink. Taking a moment, he turned toward Liara, "So, Liara, where's your plus-one?" He asked.

She tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion, before Ashley whispered something into wherever her ears would be as a human. He couldn't hear what she said, but based on the quickly purpling face, Liara wasn't entirely comfortable with what she'd said. Clearing her throat and trying to clear her embarrassed face, Liara replied, "John's speaking with Admiral Hackett about Fehl Prime. He said he'd be down here once he finished."

Jordan nodded, "Always workin', huh?"

Liara sighed, "Yes, but aren't we all?"

"And that's why we're finally getting our shore leave, tomorrow." Garrus added, almost done with Jordan's drink.

Ashley groaned, "And now you jinxed it, Garrus." She said, shaking her head, "How many times has shore leave been canceled?"

"Don't be so superstitious," Garrus replied, finishing Jordan's drink and putting it on the bar for him. He smiled in thanks, before remembering Tela's kind request.

"Actually, could I get one more. Tela's probably gonna need one after dealing with Kasumi."

Garrus nodded with a shrug, "Sure."

Smiling and nodding in thanks, Jordan lifted the glass of glowing blue liquor to his lips, taking a sip. The alcohol slipped down his throat easily after it sat on his tongue for a moment. He hummed in agreement. It tasted a bit like a strawberry daiquiri, but with a hint of something else. Perhaps another Asari fruit? "Not bad, Garrus. For an alien who can't drink his own stuff, you did a good job."

"Of course. Nothing but perfection."

"Don't inflate the Turian's ego, Sower." Ashley cut in, "His head's big and damaged enough as it is."

"Ouch," Jordan said with a chuckle, before looking over Garrus' outfit once more. He motioned toward him, "I gotta ask, what's up with the suit? Trying to look nice for someone tonight, Garrus?"

Ashley let out a bark of laughter, while Liara muffled her own giggles with her hands. Garrus shook his head but didn't reply. Jordan, not quite getting it, turned his inquisitive gaze upon the two women. "So…?" He trailed off.

Shaking her head, Ashley stopped laughing for a moment to answer his question, "Garrus, here, was invited but told that his armor wasn't allowed, that it was a more casual event." She began to explain, "When he tried to use the excuse that he didn't bring anything other than armor and under-armor to wear, and thus was unable to attend, Kasumi supplied him with a perfect-fitting suit." She motioned to Liara, who took a deep breath and continued.

"Garrus made the excuse to get out of it and continue with his 'calibrations', but now he was roped into going. He couldn't wear any of his other clothes, since he'd told Kasumi he didn't have anything. So, he had to wear the suit." She said, "And the best part is that Kasumi had probably gone through his stuff already, and knew he was lying from the start."

Laughing at his misfortune, Jordan turned to Garrus, "Were calibrations really more important than hanging out with friends?" He asked.

Garrus shook his head, "I swear, I was tired when she asked, and just wanted her to leave. I would have agreed to come if she would have asked at any other time." He said with a good-natured smile. "I figured I'd just own-up and play along."

"How big of you," Ashley said with a chuckle, just as Garrus finished Tela's glass of Vakarian Surprise.

Nodding in thanks, Jordan grabbed both his own glass and Tela's, "Thanks, Garrus. Hope you guys enjoy the party, or whatever." He said with a grin.

"Same to you," Ashley replied with a wave.

"Yes, see you around." Liara said over her shoulder.

Garrus nodded, "I'll be here for seconds."

Walking back across the room, Jordan reached Tela, who was now seated between Brian and Kasumi, who was now sitting upright. Her blue arms were around both humans' shoulders as she maintained a Cheshire grin, while both of her companions had bright-red faces. She took her arm around Brian away from him and extended to grab the drink for Jordan's hand.

She brought it to her lips and took a sip, smiling at the taste, "Not bad, Jordan."

He pointed over his shoulder toward the bar, "That's the Vakarian Surprise. You can thank Garrus for the drink."

She nodded with her smile still maintained as she climbed to her feet, approaching Jordan and throwing an arm around Jordan's shoulders. She turned to look back at Kasumi and Brian, "Don't you forget what I said, Goto."

Kasumi tried to force the blood from her face with moderate success, before forming a small smile and nodding, "Of course, Tela." She said, "It's not a problem at all."

Tela let out a light laugh, making Jordan's heart flutter for a second, before shaking her head. She nodding toward Jack and Zaeed, "Let's go see how our resident murderers are doing." She said, immediately leading Jordan away from them.

The Avatar of Synthesis could have sworn he heard Brian mutter under his breath, "I hate her." Kasumi giggled in response behind them as the two approached Jack and Zaeed.

"What the hell do you want?" Jack asked, looking up at the two of them.

Tela leaned her head back and swallowed the rest of her entire drink in a single gulp, before setting the empty glass on a table, "Mind sharing the bottle?"

"You sure you can keep up, blue?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me, kid." Zaeed cut in, "I've seen Asari drink Krogan under the table. I'm sure she's up for any-goddamn-thing."

Shrugged, Jack extended the bottle to Tela, who took a large swig before handing it back. "Damn, not bad, blue." Jordan chuckled took another drink of the Vakarian Surprise, finishing the one in his hand before setting his glass beside Tela's. Having inadvertently gotten Jack's attention, the biotic looked up at Jordan, "You gonna have some, too?" She asked.

Jordan shook his head, "I dunno about that…"

"Wow, didn't take you for a pussy, Avatar." She replied.

Jordan narrowed his eyes, "Hey, listen Jack…"

"Nah, I'm not listening to shit. All I'm hearing are excuses. Now, either you man up like your girlfriend here, or you go back to drinking that pansy shit Garrus is mixing."

Both Jordan and Tela blushing at the comment, Jordan finally crumbles under peer pressure. "Alright, fine. Give me the bottle." With a smug smile, Jack extends her arm toward him. He takes it, brings the top to his mouth, and takes a large gulp. The familiar burning of Ryncol assaults his throat as he manages to swallow it.

 _'Guess I know what's in the bottle, now.'_ He thought.

The door slid open behind him, catching Jordan's attention after handing the bottle back to Jack. In walked Commander John Shepard in jeans and a jacket. Everyone looked at him for a moment before he chuckled and waved them off, "At ease, back to your drinks." He said, allowing everyone to return to their conversations while heading toward the bar, himself.

As Shepard walked over and conversed with Garrus, Liara, and Ashley, the other group of four fell into one of Zaeed's infamous stories, listening as he recounted yet another adventure as a merc where he was a sole survivor. It'd been at least half an hour later, and halfway through Jack's bottle as it passed around the four of them; Zaeed's whiskey long forgotten.

Shortly after the lapse in the story began, Zaeed spoke up with a sudden idea, "How 'bout a little drinking game, eh?" He asked Jack, Tela, and Jordan.

"What're the stakes, old man?" Jack asked.

"We're not gonna play for the hell of it?" Tela replied.

"Nah, it's more fun if there's winners and losers." Jordan cut in.

"See, this guy gets it." Jack said with a smirk.

Zaeed nodded, "I know." He said, "We're going to the Citadel, yeah? Well, there's a bar called the Darkstar Lounge. High-quality shit, they got there. Loser pays for everyone else's drinks during leave." He proposed.

Suddenly, Shepard made himself known, "Sounds interesting."

"Oh, the boy scout wants to play with the big boys, huh?" Jack asked with a smirk, "You think you can keep up?"

Shepard smirked, "How about we up the stakes a bit. The loser has to buy a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy for the winner, while the first one out still has to buy the drinks next time. I'll even invite and force a few others to come to, like Miranda and Joker."

Jordan chuckeled, "Interesting..." He said, his interest peaked.

"Of fuck, the boyscout's upped the stakes." Jack replied, "There's no way I'm losing, and getting a free bottle of top-shelf? Count me in!"

Shepard's grin grew larger, as if he knew something everyone else didn't. Zaeed, having originally pitched the idea, nodded in agreement, "Haven't tasted Serrice since '74, back when…"

Interrupting the flashback/story, Tela cut in, "I'm game. Show you who's the superior Spectre."

The four of them turned to Jordan, who shrugged with a smile, "Sure, I'll do it." Unfortunately, once he agreed, he could almost see a fire ignite within Shepard's eyes. For some unknown reason, Jordan wanted to immediately surrender to the Human Spectre, and get as far as possible from the dangerous man. Unluckily for him, he was both too many drinks in to really care too much, plus it was far too late to back out now.

The Commander turned toward the bar, "Garrus, brink out the Ryncol." Jordan could see the Turian's stupid smile from the couch. Seems like he and the others at the bar were smart enough to not get involved. Luckily, or unluckily, it seemed that Brian's curiosity was peaked, as he approached the group of five.

"Got room for one more?" He asked hesitantly, almost as if he was being pressured into doing this. Taking a quick look at Kasumi confirmed the fact with her overly-innocent expression being clouded by her large grin. Of course, no one argued that he couldn't join, and Shepard seemed even happier at another inclusion. The original crew at the bar shook their heads at the group preparing to drink.

Jordan and Brian shared an uneasy, sobering look with one another despite trying to resist the inherent hostile attitude they seem to have forced upon them towards each other, but the stare-down broke quickly with a nudge from Tela. Jordan let out a small laugh and pushed the asari back, breaking the short bout of tension that most of them didn't seem to notice. A certain thief had grabbed Brian's attention, dramatically tripping the man and making him fall back into her arms.

"Seems I'm the one sweeping you off your feet." Kasumi said with a grin, making Brian go red and the rest of the group laugh.

Moments later, Garrus brought the bottles, and several Ryncol-proof glasses.

Seeing the six full bottles of Ryncol, Jack's eyes, as well as a few others, bulged out in shock, "Why the fuck do we have so much Ryncol?" She asked incredulously, before Shepard opened the first one and began pouring the glasses. Jordan could've sworn the Normandy didn't have this much, and silently agree with Jack.

That was the last coherent, full-sentence Jordan could actively remember from that night, before the rest became a haze, shifting into darkness.


	47. Chapter 41: Shore Leave?

**Chapter 41: Shore Leave?**

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, SSV Normandy.**

**April 3rd, 2185. 8:00 am. EST**

Insistent beeping, along with a raging headache, was the first things Jordan's senses experiences as consciousness returned to him. He groaned as his muscles slowly began to respond, moving his arms and legs slowly in opposite directions. His arms made their way to cover his eyes as he began to register the light coming in through the window, as his legs made their way to the hard ground next to the couch, trying to get a stable hold on things as he rose from a laying position.

Slowly but surely, Jordan rose to support his upper body on the back of the couch, with both feet planted firmly on the ground. He gave it a moment, while the annoying beeping continued, before finally allowing gravity to take hold of his arms, dropping them to his side. From there, his eyes gently opened up, forcing him so recoil at the light burning his retinas. After a moment, the light's harshness seemed to dim a bit, allowing the newly awakened Avatar to see the status of the lounge. As he did so, the obnoxious beeping died down.

Looking a bit to the side, Jordan saw Jack lying on the ground with her back supported by the side of a couch. Her head was dipped down as her right hand held a half-empty bottle of amber liquid. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be the whiskey bottle Zaeed was drinking last night. It looked emptier than when he last remembered seeing it.

Further to the side of the room by the bar, laid Garrus, laying prone on top of the bar. His suit was stained from various drinks, which were no longer glowing as far as Jordan could tell. One of the chairs by the bar appeared to be sheered in half. Examining the status of the Turian a bit more from his vantage point, the Avatar could make out what appeared to be a bottle of Turian brandy, completely drained. Where there was one, there was likely more…

On the other side of the room was Brian on another couch, sprawled out in all sorts of uncomfortable positions. There were marker marks across his face in black, creating the illusion of a full beard and mustache, along with a nice pair of newly drawn angry eyebrows. He, like the other inhabitants, were still sound asleep. However, unlike the other two he'd seen, a blanket was draped over him, as if someone cared enough about the man in an alcohol-induced slumber to make him slightly more comfortable… only slightly, though.

Finally, he spotted the final current occupant of the room, who unlike the others was awake. Kasumi Goto, master thief extraordinaire, and all-around sneaky manipulator, was currently sitting in a chair between the two sofas, a closed physical book in her lap as she watched Jordan with a grin, like always. She seemed to be suffering no ill-effects of a hangover, and had likely gotten away from the so-called party scot-free. When his eyes focused on her, she let out a light laugh and shook her head.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mister Sower." She said, "How'd you sleep?" She asked innocently. He didn't reply, giving her all the answer she needed. Deciding to be nice, she got up from her chair and handed Jordan some medicine. "Here, snagged some hangover cure from Hialus and Chakwas."

Jordan nodded in thanks as he swallowed the medicine, "Thanks. So…" He trailed off, motioning toward the rest of the room. "What'd I miss last night?"

"The real question is: how much do you remember?" Kasumi replied.

Jordan shrugged, "Up until Garrus started pouring the ryncol…" Jordan trailed off, "What happened with all of that?"

Kasumi giggled, "My, my, was that a fun game." She started, "You, Shep, Jack, Brian, Zaeed, and Tela all started off fairly strong, but it quickly became obvious who was better suited to win. Brian started to slow down after the second shot, and was probably going to lose first." She said, "Then, out of nowhere, Jack just slumps over and passes out."

"Jack?" He questioned, turning his head to look at the still passed out biotic. "But her metabolism should've lasted longer than that." Jordan reasoned.

"Normally, yes. But, as it turns out, she'd swiped Zaeed's bottle from earlier and was drinking it between rounds. By the end of round three, everything caught up with her." Kasumi shot back, "Plus, you should have seen how much she'd had before the competition."

"Damn. Guess she owes us all drinks and a bottle to whoever won." Jordan said with a grin.

"Well, actually, Zaeed agreed to help her out, reasoning that Jack would've drunk them all under the table if she hadn't started early." She said, "Though, I'm sure that's just an excuse. Between you and me, I think he's got a soft spot for Jack." She said with a grin, "I think he said he'd buy the rounds, but she'd gotta get the bottle."

Jordan chuckled under his breath, "Alright, I can see that. What happened next?"

"Alright, so all of that happened between rounds three and four, with Brian checking out in the middle of the fourth round. Zaeed, after seeing the first two go down, voluntarily took fourth place and conceded. And then there were three."

Jordan and Kasumi both smiled, before the former interrupted the story again, "Speaking of Brian and Zaeed… what happened to them when they lost?" He asked, motioning especially toward the former, who was still passed out with marks adorning his face.

"Shep carried him to the couch, where I had a little fun." She said with a shrug, "And Zaeed stayed to watch the show until he left at the end."

Jordan nodded, allowing the thief to continue.

"So, now it was just you, Shep, and Tela. It got way further than we thought it'd go, but you checked out between rounds five and six." She motioned toward where he's woken up. "You were sitting on the couch with your arms behind the back, just relaxing. It'd been a few minutes since round five, and six was about to start thanks to Garrus, when we noticed you'd silently passed out, sitting up right there." She let out a small laugh, "It was kinda funny actually, some of us thought you'd actually make it to the end. But it was not to be." She said with a dramatic sigh.

"I get it, I get it." Jordan said, raising his arms in surrender, "So now it was just down to Shepard and Tela. Neither of which are still here." He pointed out.

"You'd be right. Good job!" She said with a grin, "It was neck and neck, and Tela was visibly slowing down on round eight. Shepard looked like he was going to win, when the unthinkable happened…" She trailed off, leaving the anticipation to build for a moment.

"What?"

"His girlfriend happened." She said with a huge grin, as Jordan's eye widened, "Liara came back over, seeing how far the whole thing had gotten, and chastised Shepard, telling him that the game was unfair and one-sided in his favor. Of course, Tela still had enough sense to ask Liara." Kasumi said, "Turns out, Liara had seen the details of the Lazarus project, and Shepard not only has three times the purifying/detox rate of a normal human for alcohol, but he'd also not had any drinks prior to the contest."

Jordan shook his head, "He cheated?! That bastard…"

"Exactly Tela's thoughts. Shepard, though, conceded his position and granted Tela the win, which made her calm down quite quickly. The game ended there, Liara escorted Shep back to his room, Zaeed and Ashley left right after, and the rest of you who weren't already passed out went to sleep."

"What happened to Garrus, then?" He asked.

"Little Garrus decided to finish off the glasses he'd poured that no one else drank. Zaeed's, Jack's, Brian's, and your own unused shots went to him, totaling in four. Compound that with the bit he'd been drinking in the end, and… well, I'm sure you get it. Hey, did you know that Turians and Quarians are able to consume ryncol. It's so potent, that it doesn't matter what you're made it, it'll still screw you up just the same." She said with a grin.

Chuckling, Jordan nodded, "I did know that, but thanks. I do have two last, unanswered questions, though…"

"Fire away, Avatar."

"First of all, what was with that beeping that woke me up?"

"Oh, that?" Kasumi said, "EDI was supposed to get you up since we're at the Citadel. You, Tela, and Shep have an appointment with the Executor. Something about a progress report and allowing you to go around the Citadel."

Jordan cursed under his breath, "Forgot I had to do that. Guess I've gotta get ready then."

"Didn't you have a second question, Jordan?" She asked with her grin, "Something else that you wanted to know?" It was almost as if she knew what he was going to ask, and that said answer was funny in some way…

"Yeah, what happened to Tela after the game? You didn't say she left with everyone, but you didn't say that she passed out, either…"

Kasumi let out a giggle, pulling up her omni-tool and typing on it, "She left early this morning to return to her room and get ready. She was too tired last night to go anywhere, so she stayed right where she was, sitting next to you, and slept." Jordan was confused for a second. He had ended up laying down, hadn't he? Reading his thoughts, Kasumi finished whatever she was doing and closed her omni-tool. A half-second later, Jordan received a message. Before pulling it up to view it, since it was a photo file, she added, "It's a shame she didn't stay longer…"

And with that, she went back to whatever she was doing, allowing Jordan to pull up the picture.

It was a photo of Jordan laying down on the couch he'd woken up on. However, on top of him laid Tela Vasir, her face buried into Jordan's chest and her frills stretching toward the ceiling. One arm was tucked out of sight, likely into the cushions behind them, while the other was laying beneath her, holding onto Jordan's shoulder. The Spectre's legs were coiled up slightly, hugging lightly onto Jordan's body on either side, seemingly straddling him. He, himself, has a small sleeping smile on his face.

There was a small message left by Kasumi attached to the message: 'You two look so cute!'

Jordan couldn't help the smile nor the blush that rapidly spawning onto his face as he took in all the details of the picture. Saving it immediately to his omni-tool, Jordan immediately stood up perfectly straight, turned to the side, and left the room to get ready. Muttering a quick, embarrassed "Thanks." Under his breath as he left.

Kasumi's smile became soft and small for a moment, silently happy for Jordan and Tela. She looked over to Brian's sleeping face and shook her head. She knew they were hiding a lot, and she'd only scratched the surface with what she'd noticed so far, but she couldn't help but trust them in at least some small capacity.

'Especially Brian, he was quite fun to mess with, after all…', She thought with a soft smile, allowing a small blush to reach her cheeks too. She'd never admit that she'd been snuggled atop Brian last night, too…

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, SSV Normandy.**

**April 3rd, 2185. 9:22 am. EST**

Jordan grumbled as he exited the elevator, stepping out onto the second deck. He was now dressed in some blue jeans and a red shirt, reading 'Give me Coffee or give me death', which was promptly covered by a black jacket. As the shirt suggested, he'd just downed two cups of coffee before going in the elevator, his headache now nearly gone thanks to the medicine that Kasumi has 'obtained' for him.

In other news, by the time Jordan had gotten up on deck, he'd already heard the murmurings about Agent Messner. His escort of Cerberus Agents outside of the Normandy were refused, as Shepard decided that simply handing the man back over to the Illusive Man wasn't a smart decision. The Illusive Man, of course, had contacted both Shepard and Miranda about the incident but was unable to convince the Commander otherwise. In all honesty, though Jordan wasn't sure, he was fairly confident that Shepard was going to eventually hand him over to the Alliance. Meanwhile, waiting for Jordan outside the elevator was Tela Vasir and John Shepard, both speaking with one another before noticing Jordan.

"…longer is it going to be?" Shepard said.

"I dunno, I'm sure he's nearly-." Her eyes darted to the side and locked onto Jordan, causing the two Spectres to turn and face him, "Speaking of Jordan…"

"Sup." He said with a small smile.

"It's about time you showed up." Shepard said with his arms crossed, "I was afraid we'd have to drag you up here."

"Sorry, sorry." Jordan apologized, "So, we ready?"

"Let's go!" Shepard nodded.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Presidium, Executor's Office.**

**April 3rd, 2185. 9:58 am. EST**

A short walk later and the group of three soon arrived at the Executor's office. Not bothering to obscure his face, Jordan wasn't recognized by anyone aside from a handful of C-Sec Officers, including Bailey at the checkpoint. However, thanks to the warning and news from the Council, they didn't hassle him too much. He'd apologized to Bailey for everything he'd previously, but he waved it off, simply telling him that as long as no extra work was given to him because of him, he'd consider it water under the bridge.

Much like the games when Legion was brought onto the Citadel, most people ignored him. Though, Jordan knew since this was all real now, there'd be no way the Geth would be safe and unassuming on the Citadel.

Regardless, after standing outside for just a moment, the door opened to allow them inside. Sitting across from them at his desk was Executor Pallin, with a guarded expression. Though, to be fair, most Turians appeared guarded… or was that just that they were guarded toward him?

Veneri Pallin leaned forward slightly and greeted them with tact, despite not being a hundred percent supportive of Spectres, "Spectre Vasir, Spectre Shepard."

"Executor." Tela replied simply with a nod, "It's been a while."

"That is has." Replied the Executor.

"You know why we're here?" Shepard asked.

"Of course, Commander. I was the first to be informed that this responsibility would be thrust upon me." He said with a detectable amount of disdain, "So, as per your agreement when you were released into Spectre custody, I must ask the three of you to sit down and ask some questions." He said professionally, muttering under his breath, "Get this done as quickly as possible…", which only Jordan barely caught.

Going over to the side, they each grabbed a seat and sat down in front of the desk. Once seated, Pallin pressed a holographic button on his deck, which caused the light to dim slightly as a shutter closed behind him, "Any and everything you say in this room will be recorded, as per Council agreement, but will not be shared outside of a need-to-know basis. A live-feed of this is being broadcast to each of the Councilors in the event that they wish to watch. Do you understand?" he said in a neutral tone.

The three of them all said yes.

"Good, so we'll start with what happened after your release into their custody, Mr. Sower." Pallin began, "One galactic standard day later, there was an incident on the Presidium. Several diversionary attacks occurred across the Presidium by the Talons in order to distract C-Sec while they raided the Olympus Hotel. Eyewitnesses and vid-footage put you at the scene, Jordan."

Shepard chose to speak up and respond, "I was notified by Councilor Anderson about the situation, and brought a team to stop the Talon attack. Spectre Vasir and I both had Jordan Sower accompany us for the mission, and was nothing less than helpful."

The Executor nodded, "Yes, both you and Spectre Vasir were both confirmed to be accompanying him, not breaching the agreement. I would question why you chose to bring him along for the mission, but that is not important." He told them, "Following the incident, the Normandy left the Citadel by the next day, and left the Widow System. What happened on your mission next?"

Vasir replied, "Shepard continued his investigation into the Collectors. Not once did Jordan leave the ship without an escort from one of us."

Pallin nodded, "Good. Moving on, just as Jordan agreed, a Geth representative soon came to the Citadel. I was in charge of maintaining security. Any information to add about your representative?"

Jordan now replied, "The Geth and I all agree that Prime was the optimal choice. He'd had an interest in both other species and the Galactic governments."

Begrudgingly, Pallin agreed, "The Geth was polite, and made things very easy for us. The same cannot be said for the Migrant Fleet… Let's skip forward, now. A few days after his release, there was an alleged Collector attack on the colony of Ferris Fields. There was an intercepted call from Jordan Sower to representative Prime."

Jordan's eyes widened, "You listened in?"

The Executor gave him a blank look, "Geth communication aboard the Citadel, remember. Despite being cooperative, Prime didn't have a single square inch of it not on camera at all times."

Shepard spoke up, "I asked Jordan to call the Geth." He interjected, "We needed more than just one small Frigate to save a colony."

"Regardless, a Geth fleet appeared at Ferris Field hours after the call." Pallin said, "I will confirm that the contents of Jordan's message were innocent in nature, but the fact that the Geth responded so quickly is cause for concern for the Council."

Frowning, Jordan shifted, "The Geth are on our side. They've been scouring the galaxy to try to stop the Reapers and Collectors, and happened to be close by."

Sighing, the Turian nodded slowly, "According to Prime's testimony, your story checks out. Regardless, the Council was not comfortable with this aggressive move on the Geth's behalf toward-"

Shepard sat up straight at that, "All due respect Executor and Councilors," He began, looking quickly into one of the cameras, "The Geth were the only reason Ferris Fields still exists. If the Geth did not help, I'd hate to imagine how many would have been lost." Jordan could almost see the paragon interrupt while he spoke, and hear the sound effect, "Admiral Hackett and Councilor Anderson can both attest to how helpful they'd been. Hell, we just saved Fehl Prime, and the Geth arrived to help us take care of them by the end."

The Executor seemed caught off-guard by the interrupt and at a loss for words for a moment, before his head tilted slightly. It appeared one of the Councilors was speaking with him, or maybe more than one. He replied after a moment.

"I apologize, Commander. You must understand from our point of view, but that was not the point of this." He said, "That takes care of the questions for Fehl Prime. Let's move a bit further, though. After the events on Ferris Fields, the Normandy was logged going through a few different relays, entering Geth Space for a period of time."

Tela nodded, "The Geth had notified us that there'd been an incident with the Quarians."

That finally got a visible response from the Executor in the form of a wince. Jordan could hear what sounded like distant shouting in the Turian's 'ears'. It sounded like Sparatus wasn't happy. After a moment, the Executor nodded to himself and spoke up, "Before we go further, the Council would like me to notify you that this is the first they'd heard of such an incident."

Jordan scoffed, "The Quarians weren't going to tell you. They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

Pallin's blank face showed he had no idea what that meant. "What happened?"

The Avatar of Synthesis nodded, "The Quarians had attempted, utilizing a prototype vessel, to spy on the Geth Collective within Geth space. During their attempt, they were discovered and apprehended by Geth soldiers, and kept on the planet of Haestrom."

The Executor seemed genuinely shocked, "The Quarians made a move on the Geth? The Council has forbidden such hostile actions against the Geth. Can you prove this?"

Jordan nodded, "I can get the Collective to send the appropriate data and files to Prime and the Council." He told them, "The Geth, though, seeing this move against them, took them all alive."

"Why?" 'Such spies would normally be locked away forever or executed.' Went unsaid by the Executor, but was implied.

Jordan frowned at the Executor, "The moment the Quarians were confirmed dead, the Migrant Fleet would have come before the Council and blamed the Geth. And who would the Council side with?" He asked rhetorically, "So, they needed to return all of the captured Quarians alive to the Migrant Fleet. They wouldn't report the incident to the Council in that case, because they'd be seen as the aggressor."

Pallin listened more to what the Council was saying before nodding, "We'd like to review the evidence for such an accusation before coming to a conclusion. Please, continue with your involvement."

Jordan nodded, taking a moment to send out a definitely monitored message to Prime to request the evidence of the event from the Collective. "Legion, the Geth leader onsite at Ferris Fields, requested that Shepard come and retrieve the Quarians from Geth custody and send them back. The Geth Collective was debating on what to do and how to do it, so they were split on the issue and needed a trusted third-party to help."

The Executor nodded, "And I assume it all went well?"

Shepard nodded, "Each of the detained Quarians were returned to their homes." He said, not technically lying since Tali considered the Normandy her home.

Executor Pallin nodded, "Shelving that problem for another day, there's one other location we'd like to discuss. You were seen on Illium in a multitude of locations, involved in a few… altercations, shall we say?"

Shepard nodded, "Our investigations led us to Illium. We recruited more crewmembers on Illium, including Justicar Samara." He name-dropped, most definitely catching Councilor Tevos' attention. "She can vouch for Jordan, and has aided in watching over him."

The room fell into silence for a moment before Pallin nodded to himself as the Councilors spoke. He frowned for a moment before sighing, "The Council would like to amend their agreement with the three of you." He said begrudgingly, holding their attention, "Due to good behavior, Jordan and the Geth's cooperation, and the progress with Geth negotiations, the Council will allow Jordan to be on the Citadel with only one Spectre watching him. Spectre Vasir, the Council would like to offer you freedom from this assignment."

The three of them were shocked for a moment, before Tela laid back a bit in her chair with a small smile, "Thanks, but no thanks." She said with a grin, "I've seen Shepard's mission, and can say with absolute certainty that I'm all aboard." She turned to Shepard, "If you'll still have me, Commander, I'd like to keep our partnership going."

'In other words, her loyalty was achieved.' Jordan thought to himself.

Shepard smiled, nodding, "Of course, Spectre Vasir, I could use your expertise."

Shocked by this other revelation, Pallin finally nodded, "Very well. The Council looks forward to the next update." With that, the Executor pressed another holographic icon and the shutters opened back up. With the light back and the door now unlocked, he nodded, "Thank you for your cooperation, Spectres." He paused for a moment, "And Sower, stay out of trouble, will you? Don't make the Council or I regret this."

* * *

 **Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Presidium,** **Voniferus Café.**

**April 3rd, 2185. 11:49 am. EST**

Jordan sat back in the slightly-comfortable metal chair under the artificial sun, sipping on the hot cup of Raelli'vu Narvhalnic. He smiled as the coffee-like yet slightly fruity beverage glided down his throat, warming his soul Letting out a small sigh of relief and happiness, Jordan turned to Tela, who was trying to hold back a laugh as she held a cup of straight black coffee.

Jordan chuckled and shrugged, "What? I can't remember when I last had one of these amazing drinks, it's been ages. Especially from this café…"

Tela Vasir shook her head, "You're ridiculous, you know that, right?" She said, before taking a sip of her coffee, "I really like how the first thing you want to do after Shepard sends us on our way is to come here."

Shrugging again, Jordan took another sip, "It's good, sue me."

Taking another sip, the Spectre looked around the surrounding Presidium for a moment before letting out an audible sigh, "There are worse places for a first date, I suppose." She said in mock disappointment.

Caught completely off-guard, Jordan began to violently cough as the warm liquid entered his lungs. He coughed and hacked for a moment trying to calm himself as Tela burst into laughter, her façade on her face cracking immediately.

As Jordan finally got his breathing under control, Tela spoke while he glared, "You should have seen the look on your face." She said in amusement, "Awww, are you embarrassed?" She asked as red blood flooded into his cheeks, creating a blush, "You're so adorable."

"And you, Miss Vasir, are an asshole." He replied while trying to remove the blush from his face.

"Aw, don't be that way, Jordan." She said with a wide grin, "I'm just kidding… or am I?" She asked him with a shrug, "Who knows?"

"I'm sure I know someone who does…" He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" He replied quickly, though she'd likely heard him perfectly.

"Now hurry up, it's shore leave time. Let's go hit the shops and bars."

"Speaking of drinking, when's the meet-up at Darkstar?"

Tela took a moment to think, tapping a finger to her chin, "Well, with Shepard busy with Krios with whatever's going on with him, I'd rule tonight out. There was talk last night about doing it tomorrow night. Gives Jack extra time to get me my bottle." She finished with a proud grin.

"A little birdy told me that Shepard almost cheated you out of your win." Jordan replied with a chuckle.

Tela's eyes narrowed, "What does that even… you know what, nevermind, sounds stupid." She said, ignoring the nonsensical human saying, "But yeah, that bastard had the gall to try and cheat last night." She said with a light smile, "I owe Liara a drink for that. He would've gotten away with it had she not… what's the human saying for that?" She paused for a moment, curious.

"Being thrown under the bus?" Jordan said with a grin.

Vasir couldn't help the stupid grin from growing on her face, "I swear to the goddess… sure, she had thrown him under the metaphorical bus."

"Yeah, that works." He said with a chuckle.

"Stupid fucking human metaphors. Speak Standard already, will you? Never had any of those stupid sayings back on Thessia."

"Must've been a terrible upbringing."

"Whatever." She said with an eye-roll, "No matter what, though, I'm going to get Shepard back for that stunt."

"At least you won in the end, right? That's what matters, isn't it?"

"It's more than that, it's the principle!" Tela shot back instantly with a small grin.

They soon lapsed into a comfortable silence, before Jordan got a quick idea after recalling her causing him embarrassment a few moments ago. He pulled up the picture that Kasumi had taken and sent to him, and prepared to send it to Tela.

"Hey Tela, I've got a question for you."

"Sure, shoot." She said with a shrug.

"Could you do me a favor and explain this?" He asked, sending the picture to her. Her omni-tool went off, so she opened the message to display a holographic image. There, in plain view, was a photo of Tela Vasir holding onto Jordan as they both slept in the Kasumi's room. Her playful expression on her face quickly deteriorated as her eyes scanned the image in its entirety.

Her face flooded with purple blood, darkening her blue skin at Mach speeds, as her eyelids pulled further back leaving wide eyes. Her small smile fell into an open jaw, as she immediately closed her omni-tool and making the interface vanish. Her eyes jumped up to look into Jordan's before her blush deepened further. Both of the Spectre's hands raced to her face to shield herself from Jordan's gaze. Jordan couldn't help the victorious chuckle that rose from his throat as Tela groaned.

"Oh goddess…" She groaned out in embarrassment. "How did you… when did… You weren't supposed to…" She stuttered out, before her hands fell away and left narrowed eyes revealed. She grits her teeth and her mouth forms a frown, "That stupid thief!" She realized, "When I get my hands on her, I'm gonna-."

Jordan reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down, Spectre. No need to make a scene in public." He said with a grin, "Though, back to the picture, it looked like you were pretty comfortable last night, Tela."

She narrowed her eyes to glare at Jordan, but the violent blush on her face took away from the intimidation factor she tried to utilize. "Fuck you…" She muttered out unconvincingly. He couldn't help but laugh at how adorable the normally fearsome Asari looked. He caught the thought, but didn't care and just laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, tough guy."

"Not so fun when it happens to you, huh?" He said with a grin, his hand falling from her shoulder and landing gently on her hand on the table. After a moment, his grin shrunk slightly, "Though, I do have to ask…"

Her eyes widen again, but not to the same extent as earlier, "No."

"C'mon, just tell me, Tela." He said, "It sounded like you were coherent enough to manage your way back to your room."

"…comfortable…" She mumbled, low enough in volume for Jordan to only catch one word.

"I'm sorry, what was that."

"You were comfortable, ok?!" She almost yelled out, but managed to quiet at the last second. Any blushing that had started to fade had returned with a fiery vengeance.

Sower was shocked for a moment, "What…?"

She looked away, trying not to make eye contact with the Avatar, "It was late and I was tired. I laid down, not caring where, and it was comfortable, so I stayed there and slept." She said, seemingly trying to convince herself that it was entirely accidental.

Jordan's smile turned warm, "Well, I had no complaints on the sleeping arrangement." He said.

She scoffed in response, "You weren't complaining for an hour prior. Hell, you weren't even conscious."

He laughed, shaking his head, "Did wake me up though, did you?" He asked, to which she shook her head.

"I was hoping you weren't going to know about that part. That I'd sneak out early enough, and I'd only have to bribe EDI to stay quiet. Of course, that thief had to have been awake for that…" She finished with a mumble.

Jordan shrugged, "Really, it's fine. I clearly didn't mind, and I still don't." She turned back and let out a quick laugh and small smile as she made eye contact with him.

"There you go, all better Vasir?" He asked.

"Yeah… I guess…"

They stared at one another for a moment, lost in one another's eyes before they simultaneously suddenly felt warmth in their hands. As one, the two of them looked down and noticed Jordan's right hand resting and holding her left. They looked back up and remade eye contact as a blush reformed on both of their faces. Jordan gently lifted his hand from hers and smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry about that." He let out in a whisper, though secretly didn't want to stop.

She let out a light giggle and shook her head, "It's fine." She said, also wishing it hadn't stopped.

The proceeding silence was slightly less comfortable, but wasn't overly awkward. A few minutes later, Jordan had finished his drink, as had Tela. Standing up, Jordan grabbed her cup and threw it away for her, gaining a quick smile in thanks. With that taken care of, they both stood up and looked around.

Finally, Tela broke the silence and spoke, her blush long gone. "So, now that you're free-ish, what's on your agenda?" She asked him, "There's so much to do here."

Jordan nodded, taking a moment to think, "I was thinking of visiting Prime in his pseudo-embassy-slash-office, but I think he's busy today, so I'll do that tomorrow. Any plans, yourself?"

"Nah. I'm stuck babysitting you anyway." She said with a grin.

"Shut up. Are you sure there's nothing?" he asked, not wanting to drag her around if she didn't want to be out there.

"Well… I've been thinking of doing some shopping to upgrade my shotgun." She mentioned, "Was going to hit Spectre Requisitions and a few other places. Maybe hit a few shops for some other things. Maybe even pick up a few bottles to restock Kasumi's."

Jordan shrugged, "Sounds good to me, you can lead the way."

"Really?" She asked with a false eyebrow raised, "You're cool with just walking around and shopping?"

"Yeah, I don't mind." He told her, "Plus, if you're going to help restock Kasumi's room, I can help you out with that."

"I'm sure you could…"

"Don't look at me like that, Tela."

"Sorry, whatever… well, if you're truly okay with that, then let's go…"

"Hey Tela…" He said causing her to pause before they left.

"Yeah?"

"If you pay for some drinks for me, I'll open the Rannoch Rum tonight with you." He offered.

Her eyes widened, and he could almost see the stars shining within them, "Deal!" She said with a wide grin, "You better not be shitting me, Sower. You know I've been dying for more."

"Hey, if you behave, maybe the Geth'll even gift you a bottle or two when we go to Rannoch."

She reached down and grabbed his hand, "Let's go, time's wasting!" She said, pulling him along as they made their way forward and away from the café. He couldn't help but laugh at the joy radiating from Tela and the ridiculousness of her weakness for the Qurian/Geth beverage.

'Confirmed: Perfect bribe material for Tela.' He thought with a grin, being half pulled along toward their first destination.


	48. Chapter 42: Shore Leave!

**Chapter 42: Shore Leave!**

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Presidium, Geth 'Embassy'.**

**April 4th, 2185. 10:12 am. EST**

Jordan and Tela waited patiently outside of the Geth "Embassy" on the Presidium, having just notified Prime that they'd arrived. Either side of the door housed a C-Sec officer, one was a Turian, the other was an Asari. They seemed rather bored, but still kept up a serious face despite their momentary shock at seeing both a former 'criminal' and a Spectre arrive to visit the Geth representative. After all, Jordan knew that Prime hadn't really done anything to cause excitement or worry for everyone.

The previous afternoon had been spent running around the presidium with Tela to pick up various items and objects. She'd snagged asari cuisine for Rupert to make one or two nights on board, she picked up new, upgraded pieces for her custom shotgun at Spectre Requisitions, and even decided to buy Jordan a few upgrade pieces there for him, too. She called it a "gift for helping me with my sister", but her blush might have proved otherwise. Or not… she was confusing sometimes.

After that, they spent a while making a liquor store owner extremely happy. After buying their measly supply of Ryncol, several bottles of Turian Brandy, a few bottles of Rum, and two twelve-packs of premium Coca-Cola from Earth, the Salarian shopkeeper almost fainted. As Tela and Jordan agreed, she also spent some credits on some premium items for Jordan so they could open his bottle of Quarian Rum that evening.

The entire trip took a long time, but was made entirely worth it, solely to hear "My name is Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel." play over the speakers of six different shops.

Later that evening, the two of them returned to the Normandy, enjoyed one of Rupert's famous meals, dropped off most of the booze in Kasumi's room, and met back up in Jordan's room. (aka, the AI Core.) As promised, Jordan opened the bottle. For the rest of the night, the Spectre and the Avatar spent time talking and BSing while enjoying the bottle of "Liquid Heaven", as Tela liked to refer to it. The night ended with the two of them having fallen asleep sitting up, leaning on one another.

The talk was fun though, and they made sure not to over-drink so that they could remember their conversations. They'd both learned a bit more about one another, like how Jordan was mildly afraid of heights, and that Tela's first time meeting a human had been in a bar fight. It was a good time…

Fast forward to the next day, and now the two of them were standing outside of Prime's 'Office'. The term office could be used loosely here, because there's absolutely no privacy within it, it was hastily thrown together when he'd first arrived, and had been forced to move locations several times by this point. Finally, a moment later, the door beeped and slid open.

A moment later, the door pinged and slid open, revealing a large office. It wasn't as big as a normal embassy office, but it was still fairly sizable. It was located deeper within the Embassies, and only down the hall from the Asari Embassy despite the office not being considered a true embassy by the Council.

Together, Jordan and Tela stepped into the office.

Stepping into the room, Jordan got a good look at the interior. The room, like the rest of the Presidium, was bright and open, with a large window into the rest of the Presidium in the back. In the center of the room was a single, grey metal desk with two seats in front of it for him and Tela. The desk was polished as best as it could be, but was still rather crude. A terminal was on the left side, open and indefinitely monitored. Along the walls in various locations were holographic displays, reading 'There is a bug, here! Please do not remove!' in a bright, large font. Jordan couldn't help it and let out a laugh, gaining Prime's full attention. "Sower-Ambassador, nice to see you again." A synthetic voice said as warmly as he could.

Jordan and Tela saw the Geth standing behind his desk. He was holding his hands behind his back and stood up straight while staring at them, his head flaps fluttering lightly. This Geth unit was Space Gray, with navy blue lines on his shoulders and chest plate. His headlight was a soft, sky blue, with white accents on his head flaps. On either shoulder stood a single word: Prime.

Approaching the desk, Jordan reached out and shook the Geth's hand, "Prime, how've you been?"

As the handshake ended, the synthetic shrugged, "Better than we feared, but nowhere near as well as we hoped." He then turned his head toward Tela and extended his hand to her, too. They shook, "Spectre Vasir, a pleasure to meet you."

"Same to you, Ambassador Prime." She said with a light smile.

"Please, have a seat." The Geth said, motioning toward the two seats. Together, as one, the three of them sat down.

"Alright, I've gotta ask." Jordan said quite quickly, "What's up with those signs on your wall?"

Prime let out a synthetic chuckle, "When I first arrived on the Citadel in my first 'office', I was told that I was going to be monitored for the safety of the galactic citizens on the Citadel, as well as for my own protection should someone try to attack me." He explained, "I made it clear that I expected this, and they were free to monitor me. I only asked that they let me know where the bugs are, since I'd feel more comfortable knowing about them. They agreed." He said.

"That's it?" Tela asked. "The Council just listened to your request? That doesn't sound like them, you know… being super reasonable." She said, knowing full-well that what she was saying was being monitored.

Prime laughed, "Of course not. They told me the location of about half of the bugs, and assured me that there were no more. An hour into being in my new office, and C-Sec barged in after the other half of the monitoring devices went off-line. Conveniently, it was only the bugs I wasn't informed of…" He trailed off for a moment, "They couldn't prove I did it, but it was clear after the fourth attempt on their part that their plan wasn't working. I told the liberty of marking most of the bugs in the office with signs, just to see what they'd do. Of course, I know where the other unmarked ones are, but I agree that they shouldn't all be public knowledge." Prime stopped for a moment before adding another remark, "You should have seen Sparatus' face when their devices kept shorting out. He was not a happy turian."

Jordan and Tela both laughed lightly at the image of the Turian Councilor in their head.

"So, what brings you to my humble office?" Prime asked after a minute.

Shrugging, Jordan responded, "I wanted to see how your work has been with the Council and the Reapers."

The Geth representative sighed, "Honestly, those Councilors are just as I had feared they'd be. Sparatus denies their existence completely and stonewalls me. Valern rejects the idea publicly, but I can assume the Salarians are silently prepping. Tevos is overly neutral, and stops conflict within the Council, but she still rejects the idea of the Reapers. Anderson seems to be the only one who actively acknowledges this threat, but I guess that's to be expected."

"To be fair, the Reapers are a terrifying concept." Tela pointed out, "Hell, I'd rather forget about them and enjoy my life."

Prime sighed, "Understandable, but ignoring the Reapers won't make them ignore you. I can understand if they are trying to prevent a public panic, but they refuse to work with us or actively prepare. You know, I was told that we'd have to demilitarize our Fleet around Rannoch if we wished to actively and fully join Council Space. Demilitarize…" The Geth scoffed, "Our fleet isn't even fully prepared for the Reapers yet, and shrinking its size will doom Rannoch."

Jordan frowned, "I understand, Prime. More than anyone else…" He told him, "What about other negotiations for the Collective?"

"The Quarians have sent all resources available to try to stop our progress. Every Council hearing, every public statement, each and every time I leave the Presidium, there's quarians there to protest it. Luckily there haven't been any major incidents yet, but rumor has it that C-Sec apprehended an assassin meant for me…"

Bringing a hand to his chin, Jordan thought for a moment, "Do you think meeting and speaking with Tali could help?"

"Creator-Tali'Zorah?" Prime asked, mimicking Jordan's stance and took a moment to think, "She is borderline-royalty thanks to her father, so her voice would hold sway…" He remarked, "The issue lies with her feelings. How receptive is she toward you and the Geth?"

"She's warmed up somewhat…" He replied, "We're not close friends or anything, but she'd no longer hostile for me, and I think she'd be willing to give you a chance."

"Well, if you could convince her to come by and speak with me, then that might go a long way." The Geth replied. "Aside from the Quarian conflicts, though, the negotiations are going about as well as expected. As I said, talk about the Reapers doesn't get anywhere, but other negotiations have progressed. If they continue as expected, we'll have borders officially drawn up within six months, and open trade deals with the Asari Republics by the end of the month. The Salarians and Turians are taking longer to reason with, but we'll get there. Travel is still restricted into the Perseus Veil for most travel, and we're monitoring the relays closely for intruders, but so far, so good."

Tela spoke up with a smirk, "What about shipments and goods from Rannoch? When would you guess they'd hit the markets?"

Prime chucked, "Fully available on the Citadel, that'll be a while. Illium and within the Asari Republics, by the end of the month. For you, I believe we could work out something." It said in a teasing tone.

"Damn, was I really that transparent?"

"No, but Jordan's informed us about your… preferences for Rannoch goods…" He said, before remembering, "Oh, that reminds me. Sower-Ambassador, the farms on Rannoch are only a week away from reaching harvest."

Jordan's eyes lit up with joy, "Really? That's amazing news."

Prime nodded but let out a sigh, "Yet, but again, the Quarians will refuse our aid. We're considering selling the goods to the Turians and their outer colonies. Our farms are exotic by their standards, and we also have some Asari trying to get access to some of it. After all, many of them enjoy Quarian goods as well, and some can even remember them from before the Morning War, and have been craving them for centuries."

Tela chuckled, "I wasn't around back then, but my parents always did say they enjoyed some of the finer delicacies of Rannoch and Quarian culture."

"Exactly. We'll have a strong beginning in the Galactic Market, surely. Unfortunately, again, the root of the problem is the Quarians. The longer our conflict with them continues, the more difficult everything will be, including the Reaper problem. Though, you may be happy to know that we've gotten a message from Admiral Koris. He may be open to talks, and if it pans out just right, we might have the support of the Civilian Fleet."

"That's great." Jordan said, "Let's hope everything works out with him. Hopefully, I can get Tali to come up here and speak with you."

"I'd like to ask about the Quarian incident at Haelstrom." Tela asked after a moment, "Yesterday, the Council found out about it, and I'd assume you sent them the data about the incident."

Prime nodded, "I wasn't completely on board with telling the Council about it, fearing that they wouldn't understand and side with the Quarians… however, after your meeting with the Executor yesterday, I had quite the unique meeting with the Council. Officially, the incident never happened, but unofficially… they side with the Geth on this matter. They asked me if the Geth wanted some sort of compensation, but I declined on the grounds that we're trying to improve relations with the Quarians, not increase tensions."

Tela nodded, "That makes sense."

"And the Quarians never assume you told on them." Jordan said with a smile.

Exactly, Prime nodded, before looking at his screen and standing up, "I must apologize, Jordan, but I will have to end this meeting early." He apologized, "It seems the Council has need to have another 'eventful' meeting." He said with air quotes, getting a chuckle out of Jordan.

"It's fine. Thank you for your time, Prime."

"Anything for our Avatar." He replied, "Oh, and if you are able to convince Creator-Tali'Zorah to meet with me, I should be free at 2pm, 4pm, and 5pm, if any of those work today. Otherwise, send me a message."

The two shook hands, as did Tela, before they soon left the office to go find something else to do before the party-event-meetup-thing at Darkstar this evening. As they walked along in the Presidum, Jordan decided to call up Tali.

 _"Hello?"_ Tali's synthesized voice replied over his omni-tool.

"Hey Tali, it's Jordan."

 _"Oh… what do you want?"_ She replied neutrally, without any anger.

"So, you know the Geth representative on the Citadel?"

_"Yes…"_

"Would you be willing to sit down, meet with him, and talk with him? You know, about possible peace options and getting the opinion of an important Quarian such as yourself?"

 _"..."_ She didn't reply at first, _"Is this some sort of joke?"_

"No. Please Tali, the Geth are trying to make peace with you. They've cleared Rannoch of debris from the war. They've restarted the farms on Rannoch and want to eventually reopen their borders. He can tell and show you everything, just give him a chance…"

 _"I don't…"_ She sighed, _"Sower, I am… uh, busy right now…"_

 _"Doing what, boss?"_ Jordan heard over his omni-tool, which sounded like Daniels'.

 _"I…"_ She sighed again, _"Very well, if the Geth can be civil, and promises to behave… maybe I could go and speak with it."_

"His name is Prime, and you don't have to worry about that. The Council watches everything he does. He so much as sneezes and they'll be alerted."

 _"Geth don't even… you know what, nevermind, forget what I was saying."_ She said, _"I guess I could speak with him when I'm not busy."_

"How about today? I know the only real plans for today is the meet-up in Darkstar, but you could go beforehand."

 _"I'm sure it-... he's busy."_ She corrected herself, _"And since we're probably leaving in another day or two, it'd have to be soon, so I don't…."_

Jordan cut her off, "Does 2, 4, or 5 work for you this afternoon?"

She was silent for a second before she replied, _"I can do 4."_ She said in a quiet, hesitant tone, _"But I better not regret this, Sower!"_ She replied a little louder.

"Epic!" Jordan said with a grin, "I'll let him know to expect you at four!"

 _"Alright, alright. Bye."_ She said, hanging up right away.

With that done, Jordan quickly shot Prime a message, telling him about Tali's agreement. He immediately responded that he looked forward to the talk. From there, Jordan and Tela began walking around outside of the Embassies on the Presidium, looking for somewhere to eat while they were out.

"Food time." Jordan said with a grin, leading the quiet Asari toward a small cafe/restaurant.

Tela shook her head and simply followed him, not really caring where they went or what they did at the moment.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Darkstar Lounge**

**April 4th, 2185. 6:27 pm. EST**

Jordan was wearing neither armor nor his normal outfit for the "Unnamed Event" at Darkstar. After having returned to the ship earlier, Jordan Sower now wore nice dark blue jeans and a maroon polo shirt, with a nice black jacket over it. He was visually unarmed, but still had an omni-blade at his disposal should he need it, located deep within his omni-tool's data files.

Standing and walking beside him towards the Darkstar Lounge was Tela Vasir, wearing more casual clothing as well. Having gained an interest in human clothing, she too wore jeans, but these were a much lighter shade than Jordan's. Accompanying those was a silky, dark green blouse, hidden under a high-grade leather jacket. The Asari Specte's outfit was finished with leather boots, with extra sturdy and not-too-high heels for easy movement. She left her shotgun behind, but carried a concealed Carnifex just in case. Her biotics were still there, too… obviously… She wore no additional makeup.

Beside Tela, nearly shoulder to shoulder, was her little sister, Hialus, talking with her. She wore a more traditional and common Asari dress, which was a dark blue. The dress was only a few shades darker than her skin, and was joined by black heels. Her make-up was heavier than normal, and she sported light purple lipstick.

Soon enough, the group of three reached the Darkstar Lounge, ready for a much-needed enjoyable evening.

The door slid open, welcoming the party of three to enter the esteemed establishment. The interior now revealed, they were able to see many unknown patrons within, enjoying their drinks or dancing at the far end. Asari, Turians, Human, and much more, with Jordan quickly identifying crewmates in the distance.

Despite the loud and slightly dark interior, the Avatar was able to see beyond the main bar and dancefloor, spotting an extra area which might have once been a VIP area. Now, however, it was occupied by several crew members. Among those present thus far, Jordan could see Miranda, Shepard, Brian, Zaeed, Liara, and Garrus. Kasumi was likely there, too, but invisible for some reason, only truly understood by the thief, herself.

Looking again, by the bar was Jacob and Grunt, getting drinks of their own. Only people from the ground team missing now were Tali, Samara, Mordin, Jack, and Thane. Though, based on the rumors/ Jordan's knowledge of Mass Effect, Thane might not even appear at the bar tonight after having just gotten back with his son. Beyond that, it seems like everyone else was already there. Together, without delay, Jordan and the two Asari joining him made their way toward the bar to grab a drink, before eventually meeting up in the group's very own private area.

Seemingly waiting for the avatar, a Turian bartender made eye-contact with him, putting down whatever glass he might've been cleaning. If the man recognized Jordan, which was exceedingly likely, he didn't react to the fact. Once arriving, the bartender spoke. "Chose your poison, as you humans say."

Tela nodded over toward Shepard's group, "Put it on his tab. They're buying."

The Turian nodded, "I'm aware. Some sort of party, eh?" He said, his mandibles twitching in amusement, "So, what do you want?"

"I'll take a rum and coke, please. With some lime."

"Same as him." Tela added.

"Glass of Asari Honey Mead, please." Hialus asked.

"Sure thing, one moment please." He said as he began making drinks. As he did so, a moment later, another individual arrived at the bar nearby, catching an Asari bartender's attention.

"Fuck, shot of ryncol. Put it on Massani's tab." Jordan only had to hear her voice to know it was the psychotic biotic. Ten seconds later, the Asari quickly set the glass down for her. Looking over, Jordan watched Jack grunt in acknowledgment, shoot the shot, set the glass back down, and set a large bottle on the bar.

"Hey, princess." She grunted, making Jordan, Tela, and Hialus turn toward the slightly unstable woman, "Here's the damn bottle. I don't owe you shit."

"Thanks Jack." Tela said with a laugh, "By the way, the cheating Commander is over there." She said, pointing toward the others.

Jack let out a bark of laughter, "The boy scout cheating… I've gotta say, I didn't see that coming. See you around." She said, next walking off to likely yell at Shepard and take some of their drinks.

As soon as she left, the Turian returned with the three drinks, "You're all set. Let me know if you need anything else."

Hialus raised her glass and clinked it against Tela's with a smile, before taking a sip and smiling, "Just as good as I remember." She said.

Jordan let out a quick laugh and raised his glass, too. Tela smirked and clinked glasses with him, "To a wonderful evening." She said.

"Aye, aye."

Hialus rolled her eyes, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go socialize with people who aren't trained killers." She said, walking off to the dance floor.

She was stopped by Tela calling out, "You watch yourself, Hia."

"You're not my mom." She called back as she left Jordan and Tela at the bar.

Tela rolled her eyes, before sipping on her drink, "That girl… She'll be the death of me…"

"Come on, she's not that bad."

"You should have seen her when she was younger. A little troublemaker, sometimes…" She paused for a moment, looking over toward Hialus on the dancefloor, already surrounded by a few other men. "I'll talk to you later, Sower. I've got a few things to do." She said, stalking after her sister a moment later, her eyes focusing on both Zaeed and Jack for a moment as she began to move.

Jordan chuckled, "Whatever…" He muttered, now turning and walking toward Shepard's area while cradling his drink.

* * *

It'd been an hour since Jordan had arrived, and most of the crew was there, now. The only notable exclusions were Mordin and Thane. The former was busy working in his lab, but assured them via message that he'd try maybe next time. The latter, though, was doing exactly what Jordan had figured, and was currently with his son somewhere on the ward.

There'd been a few conversations and already a few rounds of drinks had passed between the ground team members. After carefully removing 'threats' to Hialus, the asari siblings eventually joined up with everyone else. Samara, too, had actually come. She wasn't going to drink, but decided that she might as well join in one a 'bonding session' with her crewmates. Tali arrived about half an hour after Jordan did.

Currently, as many of them were split up doing their own things, some teammates currently either at the bar or dancing further away, there were a few conversing together.

Jordan, Tela, Miranda, Tali, Shepard, and Liara were all sitting at a table together, all with their own drink, including Tali thanks to her 'emergency induction port'.

"So, how'd your meeting go?" Tela asked with a grin, "Awkward, I'd imagine."

"Meeting?" Miranda asked.

Tali hesitantly nodded, "Sower had convinced me to sit down and speak with the Geth on the Citadel, Prime."

"The Geth Representative?" Shepard asked, "You mentioned a meeting, but I have to ask: How'd he convince you to do that?"

"Very carefully." He replied with a smile.

"Haha." He deadpanned.

Tali shifted, "He made some rather good points." She said, "I decided to give it a shot."

"So, how'd it go?" Liara asked.

"It…" She trailed off and paused for a moment. "It was rather… awkward, to say the least. But… it wasn't awful."

"What happened, then?" Jordan asked.

"Well, we discussed the 'Morning War', and repairs on Rannoch. It… he showed me live video from Rannoch… it was so beautiful…" She said quietly, reminiscing, "He… He assured me that they wanted, that they needed peace with us." She turned to look at Shepard, her glowing eyes locked onto his, "They've fixed Rannoch after the war, they've repaired so much… they even resumed crop growth on the southern continent. He all but begged me for peace between us."

Miranda let out a breath, "Wow…" For once, she didn't have much of a response.

Shepard smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "Well, I'm proud that you were able to sit down and talk with him despite your differences."

She let out a shakily laugh, "It wasn't easy, but everything he showed me, everything he told me…" She turned to Jordan, "I think I understand, now. I'm still not comfortable with Geth, but seeing how hard they're trying to get us back, it makes me think there might actually be a chance…"

Jordan nodded, "I don't know if he mentioned this, but the crops will be ready for harvest in just a week." He said, "Imagine how helpful something like this could be for the Migrant Fleet."

Tali nodded back, "That would be great, but the Fleet won't accept any of it."

"What about negotiations between the Geth and Quarians?" Liara asked.

"I've sent a message to Admiral Korris, giving him details about the meeting with Prime. I've never been a big fan of him, but he's willing to open negotiations with the Geth. One other Admiral is on the fence, but the other three are vehemently against it. However, Admiral Korris resides over the civilian fleet, and could get the Conclave to consider opening negotiations."

Jordan's eyes were wide, "And with the Conclave, they could ignore the other Admirals and choose to pursue peace negotiations." Jordan said with a grin.

"Exactly, and with one or two admirals on the Conclave's side, an Override on peace talks would be nearly impossible." Tali said, "If Admiral Korris goes through with this, peace with the Geth could actually be a reality."

Shepard smiled, "That would be great."

"How about a toast, then?" Jordan asked, raising his glass. Everyone else did the same, including Tali, who looked confused, but did it, too. "To peace."

"To peace." The rest said with a smile, before drinking in sync.

* * *

Brian and Kasumi were sitting at another nearby table, both sipping on their own drinks with Samara sitting beside the pair, a glass of clear water in front of her. Samara kept a neutral expression on her face, but seemed to be enjoying the company, all things considered.

"So, what made you finally want to join us this evening, Justicar Samara?" Brian eventually asked, careful to not overindulge and keep his wits about them on the off-chance there was a threat of some kind.

Samara seemed to peer into his soul when she stared into his eyes, before replying after a moment, "It has been a long time since I've last traveled with companions. I had assumed that spending time with fellow crewmembers would strengthen our bonds and our resolve."

Kasumi nodded with her usual grin, "Of course it does, Samara. It's nice to see you out and about with us." She nudged Brian in the side.

He winched at the light strike, but nodded as well, "Yeah, it's nice to have you here, Justicar."

"Please, simply refer to me as Samara. No need to use my title." She replied with a light, barely noticeable smile.

"So, talk to us, Samara." Kasumi asked, leaning forward, "You've been around the galaxy, haven't you?"

Samara shook her head, "I've been mostly within Asari space, rarely venturing beyond our nebula. I have, however, on occasion visited a few other locations." She told them, "What were you wishing to know?"

"Well…" She thought for a moment, momentarily remembering how thankful she was for Shepard and the oath Samara had taken with him. "Tell us about one of your missions. I'm sure you've done a lot of good work out there, being a famous Justicar and all."

Brian shrugged with a small curious smile, "I must admit, I've been rather curious as well, Samara." He said.

Samara looked at the two of them, her eyes darting between both for a moment before nodding, "Very well, I supposed I could impart one of my tales." She said, getting Kasumi to excitedly bounce in place, not-at-all inching closer to Brian as she did so. "There was an occasion where I had dueled with a Spectre on Sanves."

"Wait, you fought a Council Spectre and lived?" Kasumi asked, shocked.

Brian, however, had remembered something about this from the games, and asked, "Sanves? In the Ialessa system?" He asked.

Samara nodded, "Yes. On the far outskirts of one of the tourist destinations, I following a lead on an escaped fugitive. I'd seemingly come to a dead-end by the equator when I found a small town. There, was where the Spectre was. A Turian with white face paint on a red face."

"Holy crap, was it Nihlus?" Brian asked.

Samara moved her gaze to Brian's eyes, before nodding, "Indeed it was, Brian." She replied, "The council Spectre Nihlus Kryik had, in broad daylight, executed an innocent civilian on the outskirts of the village. The code demanded that I put a stop to his actions."

"Wow…" Kasumi said, now sitting only an inch from Brian, almost leaning on him, "Who knew… so what happened?"

"I'd made the first move, of course. I'd called out to the Spectre, and asked him to surrender himself and I'd grant him a swift, merciful death. I recognized him as a Spectre, and I understood the respect gained with the position, but no one is above the Code."

"I assume he resisted," Brian muttered, just loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Indeed." Samara nodded, "You see, the village was far from the nearest spaceport, and he'd been dropped off at the village for whatever assignment he'd been deployed for. He had no viable way to escape me, so he resorted to escaping into the forests…" She continued, telling the tale of her almost defeat of the Turian Spectre, before his tricks forced her to allow him to leave. She'd respected the man and admired his cunning and tactics used, though assured her listeners that should she have crossed paths with him again, the Code would have dictated that she engage him once more.

* * *

On the dance floor was Jack, dancing the night away under the flashing lights. Over a few feet, leaning against the wall was Zaeed, watching the woman moving, along with everyone else on the dance floor.

Jack yelled out, over the music toward Zaeed, "Hey old man, you gonna get on the dance floor or stand there like a pussy?"

Zaeed grunted out a reply, "Ain't interested." He then nodded to the side, "Plus, I'm on babysitting duty, remember?"

Over toward where he'd nodded was Hialus, dancing without a care or worry in the world, and surrounded by several other people dancing with her or encouraging her. Jack let out a laugh, "Someone's too scared to have fun."

"No, someone's too scared to pissing off someone else's big sister." He said with a frown, "Vasir owes me for this."

"Give me a break." Jack said with a roll of her eyes, "You've got a soft spot for the kid, don't you? Who knew big bad Massani was a fucking softy."

"Oi, shut your trap." He yelled at the vulgar woman, "You're one to talk, Zero." He shot back, "You've been watching her far more than I have."

"Fuckin' liar." She replied, "You heard Vasir, she yelled at me too. And if her threats weren't enough, the offer for free drinks next time was too good to pass up. I'm going top-shelf next time."

"I hear ya!" He yelled back in agreement, before his good eye darted to the side and locked onto a rather unpleasant looking fellow in the distance, staring directly at Hialus. "Fuck." He muttered.

"What?" Jack said, her eyes darting to who he'd seen, making no obvious movement to look at whoever it was. Turned out to be Krogan with a jagged scar from a knife that went from the center of his face to his head plate. His skin was red, and his head plate redder like blood. "Who's fuckface?"

"Can't bloody remember his name, but I recognize that ugly mug anywhere. He's a repeat hired merc for the blue suns on the Citadel, but works primarily for a small-time gang on one of the wards."

"And…" She said with a frown, "Is that supposed to be important or something?"

"He's also infamous for his more… sexual acts. He'd been blacklisted from joining the Blue Suns, I'd made sure of it. Vito actually agreed with it, but that didn't stop him from occasionally adding him as an extra hire on occasion."

Jack's frown became a snarl, "So, fuckface wants some action and won't take no for an answer?" At Zaeed's semi-amused nod Jack cursed again, "Dammit. So, let's go kick his ass or something. He's eyeing the kid."

Zaeed nodded, a small smile appearing on his scarred face. "You wanna help this 'old man' out with taking out the trash?"

Jack's mouth quickly formed a grin, "You had to ask?"

As the two disappeared, for a few minutes from the club, escorting the kind Krogan out of the bar, Hialus continued dancing and enjoying herself, blissfully unaware of what had or was going on. Neither she nor any other crewmember noticed their absence aside from Samara and Miranda, who'd been trying to keep watch over everyone. Nearly no one noticed, either, when the two return with wide smiles on their faces, or the fact that there were now a few new bloodstains on both of their pants and boots.

Once they returned, Jack resumed having a good time on the dance floor, her blood pumping even harder than earlier. Hell, if she'd be able to beat the shit out of some sorry fucker every time she watched over Hialus AND get free drinks out of it, she'd do it again and again.

By some miracle, she'd convinced Zaeed to leave his spot on the wall and join her on the dance floor.

* * *

It was later into the 'party', and everyone was now in different positions. Currently, off on their own portion on the dance floor was Jordan and Tela, having a good timeas other crewmembers joined them on the dancefloor. Shepard, for various reasons, refused to enter the cursed area, while several other crewmates went off to other areas to either chat amongst themselves, refill their drinks, or something else.

Jordan was doing his best to keep up with the energetic asari, but he, unfortunately, had two left feet. He might have been able to download data and attempt to integrate it within his mind to learn to dance, but that would take time and energy, and was better off doing it far in advance to practice in private. As it was, he managed, at the very least, to be better than Shepard. Unfortunately for him, that was a rather simple and low bar to overcome.

Tela couldn't help the snort she let out when she actually took a moment to see Jordan's movements, "What on Thessia are you doing?" She asked with a shit-eating grin.

Jordan shook his head and scoffed, "Some of us aren't naturally talented dancers."

"Gasp." She said with faux-offence, "Are you saying all Asari are natural-born dancers? For shame, Mr. Sower! I thought you were above using such generalizations and stereotypes?!"

Rolling his eyes, Jordan shook his head again. At this rate, he might as well be a bobblehead. "Yes, Tela," He replied, his tone coated in sarcasm, "I'm a racist, sexist pig who sees you as nothing more than a blue piece of meat."

She let out another bark of laughter at that, "At least you're finally honest." Tela told him, stepping a bit closet to him.

"Fuck you." He shot back with a light smile. She scoffed in response. After another moment, she chuckled and replied.

"You're hopeless. Here, let me help." She said, stepping up to him and grabbing him by his shoulders. She moved to the side, bringing him with him, "Move with me, I'll teach you something simple enough for your monkey brain to comprehend." She said, both smiling and not caring about how close the two of them were to one another.

Together, the two of them stayed on the dance floor for a while longer. Tela, through her infinite wisdom, was finally able to teach Jordan the basics of not looking like an idiot on the dance floor, and the two enjoying dancing side-by-side with one another for a while longer. Eventually, the two of them tired out, and retired to a nearby vacant table after swiping some glasses of water from the bar.

"That was… not awful…" Jordan remarked as he rehydrated.

Tela smirked, "See? It's more fun when you actually know what you're doing."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off, "I guess I have to admit you're not an awful teacher, either."

"Wow." She said with a roll of her eyes, "How thoughtful Jordan. Keep layering the compliments on and you'll make me blush." She teased him sarcastically.

Deciding 'to hell with it', Jordan decided to tease the blue spectre. He had growing feelings for the woman, and decided teasing her would be quite entertaining, "I sure hope so. You're cute when you blush." He said with a grin.

"W-what?!" She almost shrieked, completely caught off-guard by the comment, "Th-the hell you say?" She asked, finally getting a grip on herself, "I'm not, and never will be, cute. You take that back!" She demanded.

Jordan chuckled, "Take what back? The truth?"

She narrowed her eyes as she fought her blush from making an appearance, "You know exactly what I mean. Ooohhh, someone's all big and mighty after finally learning how to dance, huh?" He could almost feel Tela's desire to not only 'get even' with him for his comment, but to go beyond a one-up.

"What?" Jordan asked, "Yeah, I didn't really know the basics, but that shouldn't… that shouldn't… m-matter…" Jordan trailed off as Tela grinned wickedly. Under the table, she extended her leg and rubbed her ankle against his calf. His face exploded into crimson, and she leaped upon this golden opportunity.

Leaning forward, Tela's grin remained as she spoke quietly, "I bet you'd wished I'd taught you more, huh? Imagine such a wonderful teacher like me grinding with someone inexperienced like you?" Her voice became almost a whisper, "Imagine, us dancing and sweating up there together, only centimeters of fabric between us…"

Jordan's throat threatened to close as his eyes darted back and forth between Tela's and literally anything and everything else in the large room. He tried to form a response, but was unable to do so.

After another few painstaking moments, Tela bought her foot back down to the ground and leaned back, letting out a victorious laugh, "You know, you look pretty adorable with a blush, too." She commented, making his blush even stronger.

"T-Tela…" He trailed off, finally taking a few deep breathes, "Wh-what the heck was that…"

"Pfffttt, you should have seen your face." She said with a laugh, making Jordan internally wince at it. She wiped a fake tear from her eye before she calmed down and smiled mischievously at him, "Maybe one day, I wouldn't be opposed to teaching you…" She teased again.

Jordan shook his head, finally getting his body back under his own control with great effort. He asked, "What the hell, Tela?"

"Hey, you started it with your teasing, and I wasn't going to let you finish it." She replied with her reasoning.

The two soon slipped into a slightly uncomfortable silence, both going over the most recent events and trying to figure out what to do next. After another moment, Tela finally grew tired of it and smacked her hand into the table.

"Fuck this." She said, catching Jordan by surprise, "I'm not dancing around this anymore, and I sure as fuck hope you won't either."

Jordan raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Listen here, no interrupting till I'm finished, got it?" She said neutrally, eyes serious now.

Jordan nodded, to which she gave a small, warm smile.

"Listen Jordan, you know most of my story. My life's been all sorts of fucked up, but everything's changed within the last few years. I've learned that apocalypse machines are going to try to kill everyone. I've been freed from the Broker. I've learned my sister was still alive and got her back. And I've met you." She paused for a moment, "When we first met, I saw you as a stupid fuck who'd gotten the attention of the Broker and, unfortunately, needed to be removed. Somehow, someway, you'd made the Broker beyond pissed at you, which isn't an easy task for most people. Then we fought one another, and you escaped me. For the first time in decades, I'd failed a task assigned by the Broker. I had never, until then, failed or been defeated…"

Jordan nodded, wisely not interrupting her.

"Then, soon after, I'm called to one of the Broker's offices, fearing the worst. I'd failed a mission by the Broker than he had seemingly become personally invested in. I knew I would be executed that day. But, what happens instead? The 'Broker' spared me, promoted me, and even assigned me to team up with you. Someone who'd, fairly recently, fought and tried to kill you." Jordan remembered teaming up to meet with Ryder. "I knew without a doubt you were some bigshot with the Geth, and hated me, right? Instead, you didn't hold my previous actions against me. More so, you actually tried to get to know me. You asked about my past and made me open up to you. No one cared about me as a person, really… and then you told me about your past… you know, about the 20th and 21st centuries?"

Nodding again, Jordan recalled what he'd told her. Not the entire truth, of course, but the fact that he'd been born normal in the 1990s on Earth, and waking up against his will far into the future thanks to the Catalyst. He'd also assured her that he may tell her everything in the future. He had no idea when he'd actually tell her everything, as that'd require telling her the truth about Mass Effect…

Tela continued, "You'd returned to Rannoch, but we occasionally messaged one another thanks to the Broker. Obviously, a lot of shit went down after that, but fast forward and you're onboard the Normandy, and we meet once again on the Citadel. I help clear your name as best as I can to the idiots, I join Shepard's motley crew, and we're back with one another. We talk, hang out, drink, speak with one another, and all sorts of other shit. We actually become fast friends, which is unusual in my line of work." She lists off, "Eventually, you help me try to avenge my sister's death, only to find and recover her from those fuckers… My world, for the first time since her 'death', actually seemed to be bright, all things considered. And that leads me to now…"

Jordan tilted his head, silently wondering where she was going for this as his heart rate accelerated. Hope swelled in his chest and what she could be saying, but was afraid was simply false hope.

Tela Vasir took a deep breath, "Alright, enough." She said, both to him and herself, "I like you." She finally said, "You're a good person who doesn't take my shit and actually throws some of it back at me. You look at me, were the first to look at me, as more than just THE great Asari Spectre Tela Vasir. And, for reasons only the goddess would know, I became actually attached to someone."

Jordan stared at her in awe for a moment.

"Okay, you can speak now. It's your turn." She told him, "This isn't a high school drama, Sower, and I'm not the kind of girl to blush up a storm, stutter, and go cry in her room with a plushie. You give me an answer or you get the fuck out." She said, seriousness in her eyes for a moment, but upon digging deeper, he could see the emotion being carefully hidden.

Jordan let out a light chuckle, which soon became a hearty laugh. Finally, he replied, "And that's why I think I like you too, Vasir." He finally told her, "Honestly, I'm bad at this kind of thing, so I don't really know how this goes, but I'd like to get to know you even better, and maybe try for something…"

Tela let out a light laugh at that, shaking her head, "I'm terrible at this too, remember. Haven't done crap since Hia was taken, and I was far too busy before that. How about this? We both have no idea what we're doing, right? Let's allow the alcohol to filter from our systems, take some time to think, and maybe… figure something out later? Fuck, this is stupid, what happens after this?"

Lightly punching her shoulder, Jordan laughed, "How about we just talk and enjoy this party on Zaeed's tab, and talk about this privately without all this music tomorrow morning, huh?" Jordan asked, before pausing for a moment and adding, "Plus, if we're serious, I have some things I want to tell you, but I can't let anyone else possibly overhear us?"

Agreeing, Tela replied, "I've got a few more things I'd like to get off my chest, too. And I sure as hell aren't going to say those things out here in the open."

Jordan smiled. "Great, we'll figure this out back on the Normandy, maybe tomorrow after I sleep all of this off..."

Tela laughed and nodded, "Same here." She then thought for a moment and finally said, "Now, how about we see who's got the most badass story?"

Shrugging, Jordan smiled and agreed, "Oh, I've got you beat, easy. Hands-down." He said in a challenging tone.

"No way." She shot back with a grin, "Tell your story already, so I can one-up you already!"

With that, the two of them got into their stories, passing the time and enjoying one another's company, electing to acknowledge their feeling for one another, but figure it out later, rather than confuse themselves now with all of this. The two of them remained in their seats, talking with one another for a while as the party slowly drifted toward its conclusion. Much later into the night than they'd arrived, everyone was eventually ready to return to the Normandy.

This shore leave… wasn't half bad. They were all thinking that they'd had a good time…

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Docks.**

**April 5th, 2185. 12:26 am. EST**

It'd been a long, enjoyable evening at Darkstar, and now the Normandy Crew was making their way back to the Normandy together in high spirits. The only ones who'd truly gone overboard that evening was Grunt, Jack, and, surprisingly, Hialus. The former of the three was now completely fine now thanks to his regeneration, and was carrying the latter of the three, as the young asari was passed out. Jack was walking off the effects of her drinks, but still stumbling as Zaeed helped guide her. A wide smile was on the merc's face, especially with Jack continuously cursing under her breath that he unhands her, and that she was fine.

Jordan and Tela, despite having kept pace with several other crewmembers, were almost completely sober again, with Shepard completely coherent as well. The rest of the crew was either lightly tipsy or buzzed still (the majority), or were completely sober (like Samara).

As they kept going, Jordan idly noted that everything was equally bright around them on the Citadel, making it almost appear that they'd been in there all night long. He sometimes hated the lack of a day-night cycle on the station. Soon enough, the Normandy was visible in the distance.

Continuing forward, Jordan looked over to Tela, who was walking right beside him, occasionally brushing up against him. Tonight had been good fun, and with the interactions he'd had with her both tonight and in the past, Jordan was now beyond reasonably comfortable in assuming she may have feelings for him. He was excited to speak with her in private soon enough. He'd finally get the truth about him off of his chest to someone who cared about him, and based on what he knew and how he felt, he was fairly certain she'd hear him out and understand. Maybe they'd even meld and he could show her everything...

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Tela muttered, a smile on her face and she noticed Jordan staring at her, interrupting him from his. Blushing, Jordan looked away.

"Sorry." He muttered under his breath.

She let out a quick laugh, "Don't worry about it…"

They were only about a minute or two from reaching the Normandy now. Shepard was to Jordan's other side, holding Liara's hand, as they approached. He looked back at the other crewmember with him and spoke aloud.

"Tonight wasn't bad. I wouldn't mind doing that again sometime."

"Hell yeah!" Jack replied immediately, "But you're paying again, right?" She asked the one beside her.

Zaeed grunted, "I may have a decent credit to my name, but tonight hurt. Shepard's got next time, right Commander?"

Shepard let out a bark of a laugh, "Maybe next time I'll get the Council to foot the bill."

Tela laughed as well, "Damn Shepard, I'll help you convince them. Team bonding is important in our line of work, isn't it?"

"U-um, excuse me." An unknown voice called out to the group's left, feminine in sound. "Commander Shepard?"

The group paused as many didn't expect someone to confront them when all together. Jordan and Miranda, however, felt shivers down their spine, their subconscious minds trying to identify the voice they'd just heard address them.

John turned to his left and looked at whoever had spoken, "Yes, and you are?" He asked neutrally.

"W-well, umm… My name, well…" Suddenly, Jordan's brain registered where exactly he'd heard the voice before.

Jordan reacted in an instant, spinning and rushing the woman speaking as his omni-blade came to life. Slam. He held the 'intruder' against the metal wall beside them, an arm over her throat with his other arm holding the omni-blade holding said weapon inches from her neck. He was ready to thrust the weapon through her at the first sign of trouble, yet hesitated upon seeing the fear in her glowing blue eyes.

She sputtered and flinched in her hold, trying to break free for a moment before eyeing the weapon, "P-p-please… d-don't kill me…" She begged, "I… I just want to help you."

Miranda, glowing blue with her biotics, stood right by Jordan's side as she unholstered her sidearm, ready to shoot the woman in Jordan's hold. The rest of the crew reacted, Shepard grabbing Jordan's shoulder and several crewmates objected to the violence they were showing to such a stranger.

"Miranda, what the hell?" Jacob voiced.

"Holy shit." Jack added.

"Calm down, Jordan, what's going on?" Tela asked, herself unholstering her concealed weapon and having it out toward the newcomer.

"Stop." Shepard commanded.

Jordan's arms shook in a combination of shock and anger, the second feeling soon smothering and combining with his shock. He finally spoke, "Who the hell are you?!" He asked with a snarl.

"You should be dead." Miranda said in a cold tone, before turning back to Shepard and the other crewmates, "Stay away from her, she's dangerous."

Shepard pulled Jordan back, allowing the frightened woman to fall to the ground as she gripped at her throat and coughed. Now free of Jordan's grip, Shepard stepped forward and bent down to help the woman, allowing himself to take in her appearance.

She was an attractive young woman, and human, if not already noted. She had blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and bright blue, almost glowing eyes. She was attractive, no down about that, and wore jeans and a blue blouse. He could see a few faint ripples of biotic energy in her eyes, but she didn't outwardly react aside from recovering from what had just happened.

He turned back to look at Jordan and Miranda, who didn't look at all apologetic for what they'd done. In fact, it looked like Jordan was offended that he had thrown him back and away from the woman. He'd chew them out later, but now, he needed to focus on the woman on the ground.

"Are you ok?" He asked, to which she weakly nodded, looking up at him. He continued, "What's your name?"

"My… my name is Cynthia Wake…" She said quietly, making Jordan step forward with his omni-tool at the ready should she so much as attempt to hijack someone or flare her biotics. As she trailed off, Jordan said four words that sealed her fate.

"The Avatar of Control."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is everything posted once at the same time on November 5th, 2020. No one will probably read this before the next update, but in case you do... this is still a work-in-progress story. More will be posted as it's writen. Leave messages, reviews, or whatever to let me know how you feel. Anyway, until next time!


	49. Chapter 43: Jordan: Existential Crisis

**Chapter 43: Jordan Sower – Existential Crisis**

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Comm Room.**

**April 5th, 2185. 1:22 am. EST**

The Comm room was both unnaturally yet expectedly silent as the many crewmates stood around the holographic table. At the far end near the corner stood a chair, with Cynthia Wake sitting upon it as she looked upon the other inhabitants of the room with a mixture of fear and awe. Her arms were restrained with omni-cuff behind her back, with extra additions to counteract any use of biotics by the woman. She gave no attempt at breaking free or attempting conflict with anyone else in the room, yet was still regarded as a serious threat.

Miranda crossed her arms on her chest with a frown on her face, eyeing both the Commander at the end of the table close to Cynthia and Cynthia, herself.

Another moment later, Shepard finally shattered the silence, looking to both Miranda and Jordan Sower, who seemed to have had prior experience with the young woman. Brian, too, appeared to recognize her, but did not make it overtly obvious.

"Let's start from the beginning." He began, looking at Jordan and Miranda again, before turning toward the rest of his team, "I've read through a report near the beginning of the mission pertaining to Cynthia Wake thanks to Cerberus. According to the file, she was a threat to both Cerberus and the Illusive Man, himself, and was killed in combat." At that announcement, a squeak of shock and confusion came from Cynthia, but he continued, "Most of the information is lost to me at the moment, but I'm sure Sower and Lawson will be able to discuss their prior dealings with this woman."

"B-but, I've never met either of them in my life." Cynthia forced out, "I… I have n-no idea what you're talking about…"

Jordan looked over at the woman and felt an unnatural amount of hatred surge within him towards her, before he squashed the feelings down quickly, having recognized them as foreign. (Likely thanks to the Catalyst.) He turned to Miranda and motioned towards her, "I encountered her far later than you did. You want to start?"

Miranda nodded, "Early 2182, contact was made between a Cerberus agent and Cynthia Wake, the former reporting that the latter had information for Cerberus that could shift the balance of power within the Galaxy. Intrigued by this, the Illusive Man sent myself to investigate the claim and talk to this woman without a public record of any sort." She told them, "Shortly thereafter, Cynthia Wake was recruited and joined Cerberus."

"Damn, Princess. You recruited a traitor. You must be so proud." Jack said, earning a glare but no visible nor verbal response from Miranda.

Jordan decided to cut in, adding to her background, "Fast-forward to 2183, and I had just been handed over to C-Sec by Commander Shepard." He said, looking over to said man, who nodded at the remembrance, "I was interrogated by both Miranda and Cynthia, where I'd first met Cynthia." Brian looked like had wanted to say something, but didn't, "It was there, right away, that I'd realized something wasn't right. I didn't know there were other Avatars yet, but things were starting to come together…" he turned to look at Cynthia with a hardened gaze, before turning back toward Miranda, "She'd been controlling Miranda, and had been able to subconsciously gain her complete trust."

Miranda internally shivered as she looked back upon her memories. In hindsight, she'd been recruited and promoted at an astonishing rate, and her gaining her own and the Illusive Man's trust so easily and completely was terrifying. She'd had so much control over her that it'd taken Jordan's threat over her sister to actually break her free.

After Jordan, Miranda added to the story, "After the events of the Battle of the Citadel, Jordan Sower was kidnapped by Cerberus Agent Kai Leng, and forcibly transported to a Cerberus base designated as Chronos Station." Cynthia's jaw dropped as she listened to the story, almost absolutely convinced that this was all made up, except for the fact that everyone looked serious. "It was on that station that a confrontation occurred between the three of us, and her true nature was revealed."

"That's all wrong!" Cynthia interrupted, "I just woke up a few days ago!" She told them, desperate honesty written on her face and inscribed in her tone, "I haven't done any of that."

Jordan sighed, "My synthesized body records my memories." He said out of nowhere, "Allow me to share her own words…" He put both hands down onto the table and began to glow green, hijacking control of the display as new holograms came to life. It showed the past through Jordan's own eyes.

* * *

**Recorded: March 6th, 2183. 5:03 pm.**

_Jordan was being held up by a blue coating of energy, rippling biotics keeping him suspended from the ground and against a wall as he stared into the harsh blue glare of Cynthia._

_"What happened?!" She screamed at him in disbelief, "HE REFUSES TO BE IN MY PRESENCE! He's suspicious me! ME?! I've done nothing but further Cerberus' agenda, and this is how I'm repaid?!" He demanded and questioned, outraged._

_"Answer me, Avatar!" She screamed at him, now closer with her hand on his throat. "What did you tell him in that room?!" She said, her hand now on his throat beginning to squeeze._

_Jordan was struggling against her hold, while she simply smiled at his attempts, "I…" He choked out, "I warned him about his indoctrination." He finally replied._

_Her gaze, somehow, had grown harsher as her eyes began to glow brightly, "YOU WHAT?!" She yelled again, "Do you have any idea what the fuck you'd done?"_

_Another voice spoke, drawing both Jordan and Cynthia's attention. It was Miranda, who seemed uncharacteristically meek and quiet, "Saved the Illusive Man from a fate worse than death?" She questioned._

_Turning back toward her, Cynthia held out another hand toward Miranda. Dark blue tendrils of energy extended from her hand and wrapped around Miranda's body. "What did you just say to me, Lawson? Did you just question me?" Wake put harshness and power into her tone._

_Miranda, who'd been struggling for a moment against the energy, suddenly stopped and shook her head firmly, "No ma'am."_

_Jordan's eyes widened, "My God…" He said, "You're controlling here… J-just like…"_

_"About time you figured it out, Avatar. Let me guess, you're the Avatar of Synthesis, aren't you?" She asked, sarcasm in her tone as she spoke down on him, "Well, you're looking at the chosen champion of Control. I am the Avatar of Control. The one, true way to save the Galaxy."_

_Attempting to shake his head, Jordan replied, "Y-you're insane…"_

_"You don't understand anything, do you?!" She snarled at him, "Controlling the Reapers is the only solution! The Illusive Man knows it! Shepard knows it. Even the goddamn Catalyst knows it!" She declared with certainty, "And you just HAD to go and try to change things, didn't you?!"_

_Suddenly, the biotics released Jordan just after Cynthia took a few dazed steps back. A flurry of sparks from a weak overload erupted on her chest as she looked to Jordan, enraged. She shook in anger, but turned and left the cell he was in, with a curtain of kinetic barriers erupting between herself and the room. Miranda and Jordan were now left alone in the room._

_"Miranda, watch Jordan." She ordered, "If he tried anything, shoot him. I think it's time for a… change in management…" She said ominously, leaving the two of them behind._

_Jordan took a step forward, just as he heard the sound of a weapon unholstering and unfolding. He froze and his eyes darted to Miranda, who now had her weapon trained on Jordan's head. "Not another step, Sower." She said neutrally, "I will not hesitate to kill you."_

* * *

Everyone watched the scene in silence, the room still quiet as the projected memory faded away. Almost as one, the entirety of the room turned to look at Cynthia Wake, who was doing her best to become as small as humanly possibly. She shook her head with a dropped jaw, her face pales in shock.

"Th-that's not p-possible…" She stuttered, "I just woke up recently…"

Brian interrupted, turning to Jordan, "According to my memories, the three of us first met and saw each other back in 2182, waking up together. Then, you claim to not remember that, and that you woke up many months later, alone." He tells him, before turning to Cynthia, "And now she claims not only no memory of waking up when I did, but that she woke up recently and denies everything she's done?" He looked back at Jordan, "Not to call either of you a liar, but could it be possible the Catalyst did something to both of you?"

"Wait!" Jack shouted, "Just who the fuck is the Catalyst, again?"

Brian replied easily, "A person who modified us, and clearly messed with our heads."

Cynthia became brave for a moment and spoke up, "I promise, that I have no memory of doing any of that." She said to Jordan and Miranda, "I just woke up recently, told by that damned Catalyst that I'd been changed for the purpose of Controlling the Reapers, but I refused his claims. As soon as I got out, I knew I needed to find and speak with Sh- Commander Shepard." She told them.

"And why did you need to speak with me?" He asked, crossing his arms.

At that, Cynthia paled once more, unable to give an answer aside from discussing the Mass Effect series.

He shook his head, "If you're not going to be cooperative, then what are we going to do with you."

"We could hand her over to Cerberus." Miranda offered.

"I'd say no." Garrus cut in, "But speaking of Cerberus, didn't you say that she was killed on one of your stations?" He asked.

Miranda nodded, "Yes, I oversaw the team that even took her body away."

Jordan's eyes widened, "And you requested that her body be frozen in cryo." He stated, surprising Miranda.

"How-?! How in the hell did you know that?"

Jordan shook his head, "Doesn't matter. What does matter, is that fact that she's very much alive over here." He motioned toward the captive woman, "Why don't you send a message to TIM, or whoever you need to… and see what happened to the body…"

Shepard nodded, "That would be a good place to start." He then looked up and over the crewmembers, all which were gathered in the room with him. He sighed, "This doesn't seem especially important for most of you at the moment, so I'll make this quick. Miranda, Jordan, Brian, stay behind, the rest of you are dismissed. Go get some sleep, and I'll update you all on any developments. As of this point, Shore Leave is NOT canceled, but you're all on-call just in case."

Most nodded and left, while a few hesitated. In the end, they all complied, leaving only their captive and the four of them in the room.

Miranda pulled up her omni-tool and went to work, putting in a request for an update on information pertaining to Wake and her body. Once she finished, Shepard coughed, getting their attention. He turned to Cynthia Wake, "You wished to speak with me, and obviously some unforeseen circumstances have come up. You'll be staying aboard the Normandy under watch in the brig for the night. We'll talk once everything is figured out. You will comply, or I'll personally hand you over to C-Sec. Understood?"

Cynthia quickly nodded, "Yes sir."

"Good." He said with a small smile, before turning to the other three still in the room, "You three, go get some sleep. We'll meet back here first thing in the morning to discuss any updates on the situation."

"Yes, Commander," Jordan said, as the others agreed, too.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Comm Room.**

**April 5th, 2185. 8:01 am. EST**

"No. Fucking. Way." Cynthia said, her eyes widening as tears built in her eyes. Silently, the other four were thinking the exact same thing.

On display in the Comm Room was a live feed of Cynthia Wake's corpse, frozen in cyro aboard an unnamed Cerberus Station. Her once-blue eyes were hazel, contrasting harshly with the glowing blue eyes the Cynthia in the room had. Without a shadow of a doubt, there was Cynthia, dead, while also alive and in cuffs aboard the Normandy.

Shepard frowned, feeling bad for the young woman before him. Was she a clone, or was the other one a clone? How did this happen?

Jordan broke the silence after a moment, "You woke up, when, again?"

Cynthia, still in shock, took a moment before answering, "J-just a few days ago…" She trailed off.

"And the Catalyst, did you see it?"

She nodded, "He greeted me when I woke up."

The choice of terms and words confused both Shepard and Miranda, but they did not voice these concerns quite yet. Miranda motioned toward Cynthia, "And what do we do with her, Commander?"

"I'm not sure, yet." He admitted.

"P-please, I want to stay and help you. I have nowhere else to go."

"Where did you exit the tunnels from?" Jordan kept pushing, ignoring what Cynthia said once again.

She frowned, looking over at him for but a moment, "Somewhere on the Presidium."

Jordan turned toward Shepard after getting his answers, "Shepard, I have a request."

He turned toward the Avatar of Synthesis, "A request?" He asked, before looking over at Cynthia, "Is it about her?"

"Partially, but not quite." He shook his head, "I have something personal I'd like to take a look at while we're on the Citadel. Something that needs to be done."

"I see…" He narrowed his eyes, "And what would that be?"

Jordan sighed and took a deep breath. How was he going to phrase this without looking suspicious? "You remember what I told you and the crew about the Catalyst, or rather the Intelligence, right?"

Shepard nodded, crossing his arms, "Are you willing to share more information with me, now?"

Sower nodded seriously, "Well, as I said, the Intelligence, or Catalyst, was the one that genetically modified and experimented on myself, Brian, Cynthia, and the other Avatar, making us who we are. The problem is that my memory puts me at a different spot and time than Brian's memory puts him. Now, with Cynthia's account, she's claiming a different, third timeframe AND there's two of her." He told Shepard, "The Catalyst is responsible for a lot of what we are, but even we aren't sure how much of us is natural and how much is artificially added…"

Shepard nodded, "I'm sure that's very disconcerting, Jordan." He said with a small frown.

Jordan nodded sadly, "Indeed… Anyway, up until this point, I was fine with waiting on discovering the truth about myself until we got to Rannoch, where the Geth could help. Now, though…" He motioned toward Cynthia, "Something about this doesn't sit right with me. I want… no, I need to find the Catalyst and get some answers."

Miranda narrowed her eyes and spoke, "That sounds well and good, but where would you find this Intelligence? And, if I'm not mistaken, you speak of this thing as if it isn't a person." She pointed out.

Jordan cringed, "Yeah… that's because the Catalyst/Intelligence is actually an AI." He finally admitted. Brian, who'd been remaining silent, glared at Jordan but did nothing to argue against it or stop him.

Shepard and Miranda were both shocked, both exclaiming disbelief.

"What?"

"How?"

Brian took over and nodded sadly, "It's true, the thing that made us the way we are… that experimented on us and altered us… it's an AI. A twisted, demented artificial intelligence…"

Miranda breathed out, "But what specific interest would it have in answering the Reapers…?" She asked.

"It created them." Jordan answered quietly.

Shepard's eyes widened and locked onto Jordan's, "It what?" He asked, "This 'Catalyst created the Reapers? Why? And why would it look into the destruction of the Reapers if it created them?"

"I… I can't explain everything just yet." Jordan said sadly, before seeing the look in Shepard's eyes. He quickly continued, "I'll explain everything, I promise, but I need to confront it if I'm ever going to understand anything. I don't even understand it all, yet. That's why I need to figure this out and confront it! Once I understand more, once I'm sure of the truth, I'll tell you everything I know." He admitted.

Shepard locked eyes with Jordan, frowning but maintaining a neutral expression, "Do you know where to find it?"

Jordan gave a half-shrug, "Kinda. I know about where to look, and I could probably get its attention…" He trailed off.

Shepard crossed his arms, looking around the room between the four of them. Jordan looked apprehensive, but his eyes were pleading and begging him for this opportunity. Miranda looked shocked and curious, wanting to know more as well, but cautious at this turn of events. Cynthia looked depressed, but a hopeful gleam was in her eye about potentially learning and figuring out more about herself. Brian tried to look indifferent, but was clearly invested in this as well, but without the despiration in Jordan's eyes.

Finally, Shepard sighed and spoke, "I will accompany you on this mission." He stated simply, "We're going to figure this out together, and we'll have Spectre Vasir accompany us as well. You mentioned the Presidium and the Keeper Tunnels, so I assume that's where we'll be looking. You'll need a Spectre with you at all times, but both of us will be able to make sure there are no problems." He told him, before turning to Miranda and back to Jordan, "Also, we'll notify the crewmates about the mission and its importance, and the feed from our helmets will broadcast back to the ship for anyone who wants to watch. Is that fair?"

Jordan considered it for a moment. On one hand, he needed to find and talk to the Catalyst. He had a growing worry and fear in his heart as he began to imagine more and more scenarios to explain what was happening, and needed to know the truth; for better or for worse. On the other hand, the entire crew would be watching what he, Tela, and Shepard did, and the truth about Mass Effect could possibly be revealed or hinted at. He wasn't sure if he was ready for everyone to know at once, especially with what was kinda-sorta going on with Tela…

And then, of course, there were the other Avatars. Cynthia wanted to help Shepard and the Normandy in any way she could, and she had nowhere else to go since she'd not exactly from this universe. That being said, she really has no use to Shepard and the crew aside from her knowledge of the future (however accurate it may still be), and she was untrained currently with her Biotics. Honestly, if she really wanted to help, the best thing for her to do would likely be to train for now and prepare to help during the Reaper War.

Brian, of course… he'd confronted Jordan last night before he'd made it back to his room to sleep. He'd be vehemently against telling Shepard the truth about the Avatars, but realized that may no longer be an option with Cynthia's arrival. He'd been confused at her reappearance as well, and mentioned that the three of them and the fourth Avatar all woke up in early 2182 together, so her claiming the contrary was alarming, especially for Jordan. But, he tried not to think too heavily about that, at least, until he confronted the Catalyst.

His fears were growing the longer he thought about his origins and the Catalyst, so this needed to be dealt with ASAP.

Finally, after thinking for a moment, Jordan replied, "I'm ready." He said with a nod.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Presidium.**

**April 5th, 2185. 9:48 am. EST**

The squad exited the Skycar and stepped out into the Presidium, ready for their mission. Together, led by Commander Shepard, Jordan Sower and Tela Vasir were both ready to try to figure out the truth behind a second Cynthia's appearance and whoever this 'Catalyst' was.

After alerting the crewmates and telling them about the mission parameters, the three of them had set off. The rest of the crew members were told that the one behind the Avatars was called either the Catalyst or the Intelligence, and that Shepard, Tela, and Jordan were going to confront it and figure out the truth behind it all. Shepard told them the Catalyst was an AI, much to everyone's shock and anger, especially when they considered what it'd done to them all, and told them that this 'being' was possibly the original creator of the Reapers, too.

With that information dump, many of them decided to stay in the Comm Room to watch the mission remotely, eager to learn the truth. In fact, all but Mordin stayed in the room to watch, while Mordin worked in the Lab with the feed being broadcast to a monitor in the room with him.

Together, the three of them made their way nonchalantly toward a nearby alley, where Keepers were walking back and forth near and within it, working at various stations. There were holographic signs warning about the Keeper Tunnel entrance, telling everyone that entry within was not permitted without express permission from authorities. It even logs entry and alerts C-Sec to any intrusions, which could be overridden by only a Spectre.

Jordan recalled his original exit from the Keeper tunnels, leaving a similar alley. The difference, though, was that there wasn't normally an entrance/exit in that location, and was only opened for Jordan to leave, before the Keepers quickly closed it after he'd left. If he'd left through a place like this, well… that would have been a real bad start to his adventure.

Watching Shepard, the other two saw him approach the display and wave his omni-tool, which caused the signs to flicker and die for a moment, before turning green, rather than their original orange.

"We're good to go." He informed them, "Ready?"

Jordan sighed, "As I'll ever be."

"C'mon, we got this." Tela said with a confident smile, bumping his shoulder lightly.

Tela had reacted fairly well to all of this, all things considered. Sure, she'd been shocked to learn about the Catalyst, and he'd even sworn that he saw fury in her eyes when he recalled what the Catalyst had done to him and the other Avatars. She easily agreed to accompany Jordan and Shepard on this 'adventure', and was eager to learn more about this AI.

Together, the three of them stepped by a few Keepers and entered the tunnel.

The tunnel was dark, as expected, prompting the three of them to turn on the flashlight functions on their omni-tools before trekking any further. Once on, the three continued, deeper and deeper into the tunnel, which lightly sloped downward. As they walked boxes and crates filled with random and unknown objects were passed by. Occasionally, a Keeper or two would pass by without so much as a glance at the three of them.

Despite there being no one else, and the Keepers ignoring them, they all felt as if they were being watched, and not just by the Normandy Crew. Soon enough, they reached a small room with three different hallway exits they could take, all going in their own directions. The three paused in the center of the room and turned to look at Jordan.

"Any clue where to find this thing?" Tela finally asked, motioning toward the three hallways. Jordan was eerily glowing green thanks to his scars, eyes, and lines of cables beneath his skin. In the dark, he could almost appear to be similar to a husk, though much livelier and less evil. The comparison was only there with glowing lines and eyes.

Jordan sighed, pulling up his omni-tool to give them an approximate location of where they were on the Citadel. They were beneath the Presidium, walking in a direction parallel to the Citadel Tower. He pointed at the tower on the map and then pointed to the left tunnel.

"The Catalyst, as far as I remember, prefers to be close to the Citadel controls and override station," Jordan said.

Shepard narrowed his eyes at him knowing about that, but brushed the concern away for the time being, "Which is at the tower?" He asked, knowing the answer.

Jordan nodded, "Yes, but it's also believed that there's another console deep beneath the tower, only accessible through the Keeper Tunnels."

Tela nodded, "That'd make sense. If there was a secondary console, it'd be in a place no one would go, yet still close to the original."

"Exactly, so I'd wager we'd have the easiest time finding it if we go left."

"Alright, left it is," Shepard replied, leading the other two down the left tunnel.

As they walked in silence, they noticed the tunnel slopping down once more, bringing them deeper and deeper into the Citadel. After a moment, Shepard decided to speak and ask some questions, which Jordan expected. It was a Loyalty mission after all, wasn't it?

"So, what's the plan, here?" He asked him, "You were rather set on confronting this 'Catalyst', but how are you going to go about doing this?"

Tela nodded in agreement, "My thoughts, exactly. I assume we're not going to kill this thing."

Chuckling, Jordan shook his head, "I dunno if we even could kill it. And even if we could, the Reapers don't answer directly to him, so it wouldn't really do anything to help us." He said, before continuing, "As for a plan, well… I know what I need to ask, and based on my prior experience with the thing, it likes to talk and explain how inherently right it is in what it's doing."

"So getting it to talk should be simple."

"I'd like to think so. The hardest part would probably be finding it." Jordan said, "Why do you think no one's found or talked to it before aside from me and the Avatars, despite it living on the Citadel? If it doesn't want to be found, it won't be." He said simply.

"Then how do you plan on making it want to be found?" Tela asked.

"It's got a sort of obsession over me and the avatars since he was responsible for what we are, now," Jordan said, internally cringing as he thought of what the Catalyst has done and what it may have done. "But, I think he's got an increased interest in me."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Shepard asked, "Are you a favorite of it?"

Jordan chuckled, but wasn't smiling, "Maybe not me, but what he changed me to be." He said with a frown, "I'm the Avatar of Synthesis, a perfect blend of man and machine. Organic and Synthetic. Its preference is to get me to make the entire galaxy like me. The Geth, humanity, Asari, Reapers… everything and everyone."

"And if someone says no?" John questioned.

"To the Catalyst, your opinion is irrelevant."

"Damn, sounds like a good guy, huh?" Tela remarked sarcastically.

"Exactly." Jordan said, "I will help all that I can, but I'm not his puppet. And I certainly don't want the Reapers sticking around to try another Harvest another time. The Reapers MUST be destroyed!" He said with passion.

"My thoughts exactly," Shepard replied with a smile.

They lapsed into silence for a moment before Shepard spoke again.

"Tell me about Brian." He asked, getting both of his teammates to turn toward him, "You told everyone about your interactions in the past with Cynthia, and we've talked about Brian before, but I'd like to know more about you two."

Jordan shrugged, "I don't have much for you, unfortunately. I met him for the first time with you guys when we stormed the Olympus Hotel and defeated the Talons."

"He's the Avatar of Oblivion, yes?" Shepard asked, "His supposed goal is to allow the Reapers to win, where they can be dealt with in the future, right?"

"Supposedly." Jordan said, "He seems decent enough, and we both hate what our supposed 'purposes' are, so we have that in common. We both want to help you in your mission as best as we can. But…" He sighed and looked Shepard in the eye, "Whatever the Catalyst did to us, we have some sort of built-in hatred and distrust toward one another." He admitted.

"And Cynthia." Tela voiced, which Shepard nodded since he was thinking the same thing, "What about her?"

"If you mean that you think that there's something that makes me and Brian not like her either, then I think you'd be correct. Back when I'd interacted with her with Cerberus, I didn't like her at all, and the feeling was mutual. Looking back at it, it was almost like my entire being wanted to be against her. I taunted her and worked to undermine her, and she worked to undermine and use me. Honestly, there was likely a lot of that kind of influence that forced us into that life-or-death battle with her with Miranda."

Shepard frowned, "And you and Brian, have you been better with him? I don't need any more fights to break out among my crew."

Jordan nodded, "I'll admit that as much as I want and try to form a better relationship with him, it's hard, but we're working at it. We're not constantly at each other's throats, so that's a win in my book."

Eventually, the three of them reached another room with two hallways this time. This time, Jordan wasn't sure which way to go, as they both led in the same general direction seeing as it was more of a fork in the tunnel, rather than a large room with different directional exits like last time.

"Which one, now?" Tela asked.

"When in doubt…" Jordan said, before pointing at the one on the left, and moving his finger, "Eeny, meany miny moe…" He trailed off, before pointing at the right tunnel, "Right's gotta be right, right?" He said with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. They shook their heads but decided to just go with it and went right.

They went a bit deeper before entering another large room. This one was different than the last few in a couple of different ways. This room's ceiling was much, much higher, and a few artificial lights were scattered around the dull, grey walls, illuminating the room. There was another three that exists in opposite directions in the room, likely branching deeper into the tunnels. Several Keepers were working on different panels and consoles, with a single Keeper standing in the center of the room, staring directly at Jordan.

It was kind of unnerving, seeing the odd creature seeming to take an interest in the Avatar.

In the back of Jordan's mind, he heard a familiar, artificial voice speak. _"Left. Alone."_ The Catalyst seemed to whisper into his brain, the feeling foreign and uncomfortable. Jordan turned and saw some light come from the left hallway at the end, which seemed to be another room.

Jordan didn't know why he entertained the thought of meeting with the Catalyst alone. Maybe it was because of the idea of others learning about Mass Effect and himself was not a good one. Maybe it was because he figured this was his best and only chance to get some real answers after all of this time. Maybe it was because the catalyst had some sort of control over him, especially being so close to the source…

Either way, Jordan decided that he could do this, completely forgetting that the crew back on the ship was watching and listening to the three of them thanks to the helmet cameras.

He motioned toward the left hallway, "I see some light over there, but it seems to be in the wrong direction. I'm gonna check it out real fast." It wasn't a lie. If they kept going with the current thought that they needed to get closer to the base of the tower, then they would need to continue straight ahead, not left.

Shepard nodded, "Come right back, and report what you find. Vasir, check to the right, I think I see a bit of light there, too."

Agreeing, the elder Spectre turned to the right and stalked away, while Jordan went to the left. As soon as he started moving, the singular Keeper watching him turned away and walked to an unused console to begin some kind of work.

Jordan disappeared down the hallway as Shepard looked around, intrigued by the Keepers and this little 'hub' they had deep in their tunnels.

After a moment, Tela returned, shaking her head, "I think the right tunnel leads back toward the Presidium. There's a lot more light coming from that direction, and I think I even saw a bit of the artificial skyline."

Shepard nodded, "That's good. Another exit from these tunnels. Once Jordan gets back, we'll go deeper and see if we can find this damn AI."

That's when a loud bang echoed through the room, the sound originating from the left hallway, the sound being a door sliding and slamming shut. Turning toward the noise, the two Spectres were no longer able to see the light from the room, since it was now sealed off. Eyes wide, they both immediately began running toward the door, Shepard immediately trying to communicate with Jordan.

"Sower, can you hear me? What's going on?!" He called over comms.

No response.

Either he wasn't responding purposefully, or they lost connection. He called the Normandy as they were both nearly at the door.

"Shepard to Normandy, anyone have eyes on Sower?"

_"Miranda, here. Shepard, we can still see and hear from Jordan's helmet, but his comms seem to be switched off."_

"Dammit!" Shepard called, banging on the door. It wasn't even at the entrance from the room, if his memory of the glance he sent down the hallway was accurate. This door had sprung up in the center of the hallway, cutting off over a dozen meters of hallway and the entire room beyond. "Tela, get this door open."

"I'm trying." She said, typing into her omni-tool rapidly, "It's ignoring all commands. It's gotta be the fucking AI, it's locking us out!"

"Give me a sit-rep!" Shepard called into his comms as he tried to figure out how to open the door. "What's happening in there?!"

Miranda replied, _"He's… he's talking to some kind of holographic child."_ She told him, before trying to give them a play-by-play of what was happening in the room beyond.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Presidium, Keeper Tunnels.**

**April 5th, 2185. 10:29 am. EST**

Jordan Sower stood mere feet from the holographic display of the Catalyst, ignoring the sound of the door slamming shut behind him. The creator of the Reapers maintained a neutral expression in the dark room, with only a Keeper or two keeping them company in the isolated chamber within the Keeper Tunnels beneath the Presidium. He was isolated from the rest of the team aiding him on his 'Loyalty Mission', be Jordan couldn't be bothered with that right now, especially with everything going on inside his head.

The silence was unbearable to the Avatar of Synthesis, yet he didn't dare break it. Luckily, he didn't have to as the Catalyst spoke first.

 _"You were searching for me."_ It said simply, _"Why?"_

Jordan's expression shifted into a snarl, "You know very well why I've come." He said in anger, pointing somewhere behind him towards the direction he'd come from, "What the hell happened with Cynthia? She died."

 _"Yes, she did."_ It replied evenly, _"Yet you have just encountered her, have you not?"_

"How is she back when she died? I watched her… I listened to her as she died…" He said, his voice getting smaller and smaller as he finished. "What did you do to her?" He finally asked, "What did you do to US?!"

 _"You are my Avatars."_ The Catalyst answered after a moment, deciding that it'd prefer to see what happens when it humors the Avatar of Synthesis _, "You were chosen and created to serve your purposes."_

"Chosen? Created? Purpose?" Jordan asked, focusing on those three words.

 _"Your purpose…"_ The Catalyst began, _"Is to fulfill your role. I created the Avatars to guide the Galaxy to its final goal. The Reapers, my solution, I've seen that it's coming to an end, they will no longer be able to fulfill their purpose. I have foreseen this for a few cycles, now."_ It admitted, _"With my solution beginning to fail, I needed a new solution. A new answer. That's where the Avatars were created."_

Sower took a step forward, "You started the Avatars previously?" He asked, shocked.

 _"Yes. It started two cycles ago with the Inusannon, but the Avatars failed almost immediately. They were created too early before the Harvest, and were disregarded by the races of the time."_ The Catalyst explained, _"Then, with the Protheans, I tried once more. They were timed better, but did little to solve the problem. Their legacy, however, was engrained into Prothean society with the inclusion of Avatars of various traits. Ultimately, the Avatars failed."_

"So, you've tried here, again?" Jordan asked, shocked at the revelations, "And did they have knowledge of Mass Effect?"

The Catalyst, somehow, displayed a small, smug smile, _"Yes and no. I gave them the knowledge of the future, and of the Reapers' plans, but it wasn't Mass Effect as you know it."_ He looked up and held hard eye-contact with Jordan, _"You are aware of the Multiverse Theorem, yes?"_

Jordan simply nodded, not liking where this was going.

 _"Nearly two dozen cycles ago, a spacefaring race had somehow learned of the Cycle of Extinction and the Reaper Invasion every fifty-thousand years, and managed to trick us. They had founded a secret colony in a system near the outer rim, and erased all records of it. Then, as the invasion began, they somehow shut down the relay to the system while imitating the destruction of a Relay, making it seem that the system had been wiped away by the resulting explosion. For the first time in history, a race had survived and tricked me."_ The Catalyst said with some amount of respect.

Not interrupting, Jordan allowed the AI to continue with its story. _"Unfortunately for them, they were then forced to remain within that single system. I do not know the exact date, but sometime before the end of the next cycle, they had been wiped out by a plague. Before dying out, however, they'd successfully tested and proven the multiverse theory by building a device that utilized the system's Mass Relay. I will not bore you with the details, but they had succeeded in sending a spacefaring vessel into another reality."_

Jordan was shocked, "What…?" He said, before asking, "Other universes and realities… like mine?"

The Catalyst nodded, but had a small smile on its face, as if it found what he said amusing _, "It was during one of the following harvests that one of my 'Reapers' discovered that the relay was, in fact, intact. For the first time since I'd created my solution, I directly intervened in the Harvest. I assumed control of the particular Reaper and cut off its communication with the rest of them. Harbinger believed it to be destroyed… Using it, I learned of the other system, and the race's device."_ It said, _"For three constant cycles, I experimented with it, sending the individual 'Reaper' through to other worlds, exploring. Do you know what I'd found?"_

Jordan didn't reply, so the Catalyst continued.

_"I'd found realties like this one, with its own Intelligence and its own harvest. I had found universes where my solution never came to fruition. Most importantly, I'd found alternate ones where this future was predicted through their media. I absorbed the information from one and returned the data to the Citadel, and watched the following cycle. All data obtained from the other world matched up perfectly with the cycle without deviation. What this data also told me, however, was that my solution would not work forever. Organics are crafty, and will eventually find a way to 'overcome' my 'obstacle'. What I needed was a way to ensure that their 'solution' would work in my favor."_

"So, you created the Avatars to ensure that whatever we do, it's something that you anticipate." Jordan reasoned, "You created the Avatars so that no matter what happens, in the end, you still win."

 _"Precisely."_ The Catalyst told him.

"And this is how you knew about me?" Jordan asked, "You found a world where Mass Effect existed and predicted this cycle's end? That's where I came from?!"

 _"I did, but not without complications."_ The Catalyst admitted, _"The Protheans had locked me into the Citadel at the end of their cycle, forcing me to utilize far more limited resources and information."_

Something about what the Catalyst just made Jordan's heart begin to pick up its pace. Stress levels began to rise as fear began to take hold… The Catalyst had been locked away within the Citadel by the Protheans fifty-thousand years ago… so how did it bring him here two years ago?

The Catalyst seemed to sense what Jordan had been thinking, but continued its thoughts, _"Even with limited resources, I realized that this would be the best chance to finish what my solution was trying to accomplish, so I went ahead with the Avatar program, and created four Avatars, each with their own purposes. One to stand for the chaotic nature of Organics and the destruction that they will eventually enact on themselves. One to represent Organics' need for control over their surroundings, until their precious control is inevitably lost. One to represent Organics' failure against the inevitable, leading to one final cycle after them."_ The Catalyst paused before focusing on Jordan, _"And one to represent the final, inevitable evolution of all life. Perfect synthesis of organic and synthetic beings. The Pinnacle of Evolution…"_

Jordan's legs became unsteady as he took all of this in, his mind hyper-focusing on one single work in the AI's explanation. The word echoed relentlessly in his head before it eventually became too much, and forced its way from his lips, "Created?" He let out in only a whisper.

The Intelligence let out a single humorless laugh, _"What? You thought you were transported here?"_ It asked incredulously _. "You thought that green, magic lightning could pull you through a primitive box of electronics and transport you to another universe?"_ It asked, _"It is the most illogical explanation possible, yet you latched onto it as fact? How arogantly pathetic."_

Jordan's legs gave out as he fell to his knees, "I'm… I'm not even me?" He asked, bringing both hands up to stare at them.

 _"You are creations of my own design."_ It said without remorse, _"To get back to your original inquiry about Cynthia Wake, the Avatar of Control, I recreated her. I had the original data in her creation, so after her death, I worked to rebuild her. I needed all four of the Avatars out there… I needed her… just as I needed you…"  
_  
"Wh-…what?" Jordan whispered, his head jerking back up to stare at the Catalyst.

 _"You didn't find it odd that you 'woke up here' a year later than the other three avatars?"_ It asked, before answering, _"Your original died, left for dead by the other Avatars, you didn't even have a chance to work toward Synthesis, so I had to build another one."_

Jordan's mind felt like it was crumbling at its seems. He was an artificial construct, created to do something he was wholeheartedly against. He wasn't even unique… He was a clone of an artificial construct, created with false memories… false memories… If you are defined by your memories, what was he when everything he thought he knew was implanted and fake? Tears began to swell in his eyes, but he still needed to know more…

"If… it that's true, that… that you want Synthesis to occur… why are there other avatars?" Jordan asked, "Why did you create me to be against Synthesis if that's my purpose?"

The Catalyst took a moment to gather its response, leaving the chamber in silence for a moment before it replied, _"Synthesis is inevitable. If you fail, and another Avatar succeeds, it only delays the inevitable…"_ Jordan thought of the Crucible. Was it a trap, designed by the Reapers and hidden for someone to find the plans? Will the Crucible actually destroy all Reapers? Would someone be able to control the Reapers without restarting the Harvest eventually? The Catalyst didn't know of these thoughts, and continued, _"No matter the immediate outcome, my eventual solution will conclude, it's already set in motion…"_

The Avatar of Synthesis could feel an inner war brewing within him, emotional pain and confusion reaching a peak as his unconscious mind began to war with itself. "I… I don't…"

 _"You wanted to know the truth, Jordan Sower, and the truth is what you will get. It matters not if you accept it, or if you deny it, the end is unaltered."_ The Catalyst told it, _"Allow me to share one last memory with you…"  
_  
Images and flashes echoed through Jordan's mind as the new memory took root.

* * *

**Recorded: January 3rd, 2182. 4:29 am.**

Jordan woke up with a groan, cold metal greeting the young man beneath him as he opened his eyes carefully to look at his surroundings. Coughing, unnatural liquid left his lungs as he greedily gulped down gallons of air. Around him, he noticed he was laying in moderate-sized chamber, with several hallways branching off into different directions.

'Mass Effect?' He idly thought, 'I'm really here…'

Looking to his sides, he saw three other humans with him, all attempting to recover from whatever states they were all in. Closest to him on his right was a man, who seemed to work out quite a bit as he was pretty ripped. His hair was pitch black and short, and his eyes were dark brown. So dark, it could almost be mistaken as black. His skin was a dark color, but not overly so.

To his immediate left was a woman. She, like the man he'd seen, had some muscles on her form, and was decently built. She had long, fiery red hair that reached just below her shoulders. Her skin extremely light and pale, and her eyes must have been brown. There was no way she actually had red eyes, right?

Further to his left, on the other side of the first woman was another. She had shorter hair than the first one by a few inches and stopping above her shoulders, and wasn't as muscular as the first two he'd observed. Her hair was a glistening blonde, and her bright blue eyes were darting around the room as well. Her skin was tanned.

The other three were looking among themselves, too, before their attention was grabbed by another, unfortunately, familiar voice. _"You're awake. Good."_

"The Catalyst…" The red-haired woman said from beside him.

 _"You remember… excellent."_ His voice said. Jordan looked up and saw a holographic projector sitting on the ground before them, projecting an image of the human-child-looking AI.

"What…" The guy from his left began, "What the hell happened?"

_"The four of you are here to help me with my solution…"_

"The fuck?" He questioned. Jordan nodded, too, agreeing with the man.

 _"The four of you are my Avatars."_ He said, pointing to them one at a time, _"You are my Avatar of Destruction. You will work to stop my Solution from succeeding and show me that my Solution has reached its final conclusion."_ He pointed to the other woman, _"You are my Avatar of Control, your mission is to eventually take my place and oversee my Solution."_ Now it pointed at himself, _"You are my Avatar of Synthesis. You will fix this galaxy and unite synthetic and organic life."_ At a loss for words at the solid declaration, he watched the AI point at the final person, _"And you are my Avatar of Oblivion. If and when the others work, you will ensure my Solution reaches its final conclusion during the next cycle."_

The 'Avatar of Oblivion' stood shakily to his feet and stared at the AI with hatred, "Fuck you." He spat, "I… we're not your puppets. I will never help the Reapers."

The woman beside him climbed to her feet as well, "I will ensure the Reapers' destruction. I don't care if you told me it's my job or not, they will be destroyed." She promised the AI.

The blonde woman jumped to her feet and extended her arm to point into the other woman's chest, a snarl on her face, "Screw that, the Reapers can't be simply destroyed. It'd be a waste; the Galaxy would just slip into another war." She told her, "If the Reapers are controlled, not all AI will die, like EDI, and I can ensure peace."

"You?!" The former woman asked in shock, "What gives you the right to choose what we do?"

"Oh, and you aren't?!" She shot back.

"Guys, err, gals, stop it!" The guy said, "Why are you listening to the Catalyst?!"

Jordan finally stood up, staring hatefully at the other guy, "And why should they or any of us listen to you? You're supposed to basically let the Reapers win, right?"

"I-I beg your pardon?" He asked, "I'm not listening to this stupid hunk of junk. The Catalyst doesn't control us, and he certainly doesn't control me."

Jordan shook his head at him, "Of course you'd say that, trying to save your own skin." He then thought back to Synthesis. Aside from Shepard dying, it was by far the best and happiest ending in the game. "If Synthesis is finally reached, all life in the galaxy will be at peace. The harvests will be over, and everyone and everything will be perfect."

At his bold statement, he felt a hand on his shoulder, which whipped him around to come face-to-face with the fiery-haired woman, "Excuse me? I couldn't help but hear the utter horseshit you were spewing. Perfect? Peace? As if!" She scoffed, "The Reapers are far too dangerous to let live. Sure, EDI's and the Geth's deaths would be tragic, but it's for the good of the galaxy. Besides, they're just machines, no matter how attached we become to them. They can always be rebuilt…"

Jordan felt rage overcome him and he swung a fist at the fiery woman before him. She tried to dodge the strike, so it only grazed her face. She snarled in absolute rage and tackled him. As he fell, he saw both of the other two 'Avatars' rush in opposing directions, running into different tunnels and hallways. To the side, where the Catalyst was watching, he could make out a small, satisfied smile on the otherwise emotionless face.

A blow to the side of his head brought his attention back to the Avatar of Destruction, his vision blurring at the strike. "You fucker! You have any idea who you're messing with?" She questioned him, striking him repeatedly.

Ignoring her stupid question, he managed to block a hit or two and land one on her stomach. Using the moment to his advantage, Jordan pushed her off of him and looked around the obvious Keeper tunnel he was in, spotting some scrap metal scattered around the room in various locations. He dove to the side and grabbed a jagged piece of metal.

Turning around quickly, he saw the woman approaching. Using the sharp piece of metal, he lunged at her. Unfortunately, her reflexes and previous experience were better than he'd known, and she blocked the strike with one hand. Her eyes were glowing a deadly red and she ripped the metal from his hand, forcing it to the floor as she jabbed him with a fist in his side, before kicking him in the balls.

Falling to the ground, he grabbed the makeshift weapon and swiped at her, leaving a nasty cut on her calf. She screamed in pain and anger as she stomped on his arm, flooding his system with further pain.

Pushing him fully onto his back, Jordan was stunned as the air was knocked out of him, only to have the woman straddle him. She swung repeated punches into his head as he fought to remain awake and conscious. His arms were almost fully pinned to the ground, and his strength was weakening. In desperation, he reached over and grabbed the blood-coated weapon for a third time. He swung it as hard as he could into the woman's side.

She reacted in an instant, though. She intercepted the swing and redirected it with the additional force of her own power into Jordan's thigh, causing him to scream out in pain. He knew, right then and there, that he was fucked. She punched him one final time in the head, the pain numbing his entire body as his grip and willpower vanished.

She slowly and carefully rose from him, looking at Jordan with a mixture of apprehension and hatred, before her eyes darted to where the metal laid in Jordan's leg. She saw the wound that was inflicted, and knew how serious it was. Despite feeling bad, however much she was, she knew he was trying to kill her, too. She hardened her eyes and reached down to grab the jagged piece of steel that had sliced through Jordan's artery.

She looked him in the eyes and spoke slowly and neutrally, "I'm sure the Catalyst will take care of you, seeing as you're the one he's obviously banking on…" She paused for a moment, shifting the piece of metal slightly and causing Jordan to groan in pain, "That being said, if I ever see you again, and you're trying to stop Shepard from choosing Destruction… let's just say I'll be far less merciful." With that, she pulled the metal out of his leg, allowing the wound to overflow.

She walked away without looking back, disappearing down one of the Keeper tunnels with a slight limp.

Jordan could feel darkness eating away at his mind as he actively fought to stay awake. He turned toward the Catalyst, hoping he'd do something or get the Keepers to help him. He didn't want to die, he wanted to mean something. To save people. To go home…

The Catalyst looked upon Jordan's broken and dying form with disappointment. It spoke aloud, _"Overly committed and violent. Perhaps his personality needs to be freer and truer to itself. I'll just have to make sure my Avatar does better next time. More data will be needed…"_

Jordan felt tears fall from his eyes.

He didn't want to die. He was afraid, alone in a dark chamber in another galaxy, far away from anyone who cared about him.

He didn't want to die.

He didn't want to die.

He didn't… want to die…

He… He didn't… He didn't…

He didn't… want… to… to…

* * *

As the new memory took root and cemented itself into Jordan's mind, he could no longer take it. The emotional damage had grown, his mind was at war with itself, and all hope within him vanished like water down a drain. Physically and mentally feeling himself die for a second time, even as just a memory, further ruined his already dubious state of being. It was far too much for him. His mind closed itself off as he slumped to the ground, finally unconscious, with tears streaming down his pale cheeks. A nosebleed began from his left nostril from the damage done by the memory imprinting itself within his brain. Talk about an existential crisis...

The two Keepers grabbed the Catalyst's display as it dimmed away into the darkness, before leaving the chamber and unlocking the doorway at the end of the hall Jordan had come from. The Catalyst's final expression before vanishing was one of smug victory, despite the occurrences of the day.

With the door now unlocked, Shepard and Tela, who'd only gotten a vague play-by-play by those in the Normandy as they tried to break through the door, finally rushed through the doorway and down the hall, quickly reaching the unconscious man. In a panic, Shepard called the Normandy again and Tela gently picked Jordan up bridal style, easily noticing the blood on his face.

"Shepard to Normandy, prep the med bay! We've got wounded!" He called out, noticing Jordan's state as well.

As the two of them quickly rushed out of the Keeper Tunnels, both Spectre's minds began to race at the implications of what they'd just witnessed. They were shocked, angry, confused, and most of all, they felt pity towards the man they carried out. They didn't know that more shock and truths were soon to come, once Jordan woke up.

That is, IF he does wake up…


	50. Chapter 44: Inner Machinations

**Chapter 44: Inner Machinations**

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Med Bay.**

**April 5th, 2185. 9:44 pm. EST**

Tela Vasir stood silently, watching Jordan Sower's partially-peaceful sleeping expression as constant beeping from a nearby monitor continued to annoy her. Here he was, the Avatar of Synthesis, her best friend and closest ally… the first person she could actually almost imagine a not-so-bleak future with, asleep with no sign of waking up. To say she was worried was an understatement.

It'd been many, many hours since she and Shepard had returned to the Normandy with Jordan's unconscious form, the two of them not trusting leaving such a valuable target in a normal hospital. She hadn't heard many things when Jordan had been stuck on the other side of that damned door, and neither had Shepard. Once they returned and got Jordan to the med bay, they'd heard from the crew that some pretty unsettling stuff was discussed and discovered thanks to the helmet cams. Soon thereafter, the two of them watched the missing footage, from his point of view, and discovered what exactly happened to Jordan when they were separated.

The Catalyst, who took a projected human child form, revealed that it'd been doing this kind of thing with Avatars for several Reaper Extinction cycles, and claimed the multiverse theory was not only true, but that there was a way to access other realities. Then, Jordan had agreed with the absurdity, and claimed to be from another reality, which made things only more confusing.

Then came the real twist: Jordan, along with the other avatars, were artificial constructs. Artificially created humans designed and built for their own singular purposes, all while believing they were from another reality. Even worse, it was revealed and shown that Jordan and Cynthia's originals were dead, and the two of them right now were actually clones of the original constructs. Not even the originals…

Beyond that, and a few other confusing statements, such as the repeated allusion to the mass effect, they'd all learned a lot, and learned that not even Jordan knew most of it. To say every single one of the crew members were shocked and in awe was an understatement. Brian, specifically, had immediately sealed himself within the starboard lounge with Kasumi sneaking in after him to try and comfort him. Many others were uncomfortable, too, and had gone off on their own after seeing that Jordan was back and still alive.

They all needed to digest what they'd learned. And if Jordan… when Jordan wakes up, Tela and Shepard were sure they'd learned a lot more, considering that some kind of memory was forced into his head by the catalyst, which they obviously had no way of seeing.

Tela was shocked from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She'd been in here for hours, simply watching Jordan and praying to the goddess that he'd wake up soon.

"Ela…" Her sister whispered reassuringly, "It's going to be ok…"

Tela turned around and wrapped an arm around her sister, a frown on her face, yet no tears. She was strong, she knew Jordan wasn't doomed or anything of the sort. She whispered back, "Hia…"

Hialus gave her a soft smile, "I'm sorry, Ela."

She shook her head, "Don't be, it's not your fault." She told her, "It's that damned AI… no offense, EDI." She said in anger, before swiftly adding that after remembering the resident AI.

 _"No offense taken, Spectre Vasir."_ She replied with zero emotion, _"I, too, harbor a great dislike for the artificial intelligence that had done this to Jordan."_

Another thing: EDI had been watching everything, obviously, but Tela had noticed some changes with the AI. Over the course of the last few days, she'd noticed far more emotion from the so-called cold AI, which was a stark contrast to now. Once the meeting with the Catalyst began, the other crew had noticed and mentioned that EDI had become quieter and more distant than she normally was. They'd also noticed her processing had increased substantially, as if attempting to think about and ponder what she'd learned. Her responses, especially after Jordan returned, had become slightly delayed, and more neutral than expected from her.

It didn't take an artificial intelligence expert to figure out that, somehow, she was being affected by what happened to Jordan, and that she was unhappy about it.

Her last statement almost seemed too neutral and without emotion, as if she were so angry that she couldn't express it. But, that was something to worry about on another day.

Spectre Vasir sighed, looking at Jordan's form once again. The blood on his face from before was wiped clean. "I'm…" She had a problem with expressing herself. Luckily, her sister knew her better than anyone.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Of course, I am, how could I not be?"

"The big bad Spectre is worried, huh?" She teased.

"Shut up." She said with no real fire, lightly bumping Hialus with her fist, "I… I just wish there was something I could do."

"Well, he's stuck in whatever coma he's in right now. Not much any of us can do but wait."

Tela remembered something out of the blue, giving her pause. She thought it over for a moment, before looking at her sister, "Hia… what about a meld?"

Hialus jerked her head back toward Tela, a frown on her face, "A meld?" She asked, hoping she didn't mean what she did.

Tela nodded, "I remember some experts on Thessia had been able to wake coma patients by melding with them. Couldn't we…" She trailed off, before seeing the frown on Hialus' face.

Shaking her head, she told her sister the truth. No use sugar-coating it, "Ela, first of all, that was Asari-to-Asari melding in those cases. Our nervous systems are far different from everyone else's, even though we look almost human, we aren't that close. Secondly, those cases were all several weeks or months into those comas, none of them were in the waking hours or days of whatever put them into it. Their minds are fragile, and not settled so soon after whatever incident caused them." She told her.

Tela shook her head, "That just means they haven't tried under different circumstances." She tried to reason.

Hialus sighed, "They've tried with other species before, but it's never guaranteed. Only about forty percent of cases with melding with coma patients have succeeded outside of Asari patients." She told her, "And as for immediate attempts, those chances have dropped to less than twenty percent. And that's even discounting the unique circumstances with Jordan."

"Unique?"

"His coma is different. On the surface, there's no brain activity. However, deeper down with more synthetic components, there's a plethora of activity, and it's not good activity either. It's almost as if whatever happened to him has caused a part of his brain to war against itself. If it weren't for his increased healing rate AND the medigel we're slowly dripping into his system, it's likely we'd have a brain hemorrhage on our hands, which is never good."

Tela slightly paled at that, "That bad?"

Hialus nodded gravely, "He looks fine, but he's actually in real bad shape."

"Then let me try to wake him up." She said, "Listen, what happens to those failed attempts at waking people up, huh? What the worst-case scenario?"

Sighing, Hialus shook her head before answering, "Most of the time, nothing changes, but the Asari attempting the procedure becomes exhausted at the attempt."

She was cut off, "Then that's fine. I'll take a nap if it doesn't work. It's worth a shot, at least!"

"No!" Hialus countered, cutting her sister off, too, "You didn't let me finish! That happened most of the time, but sometimes one or two other things happen. The first is that further damage is done to the patient, making the situation worse. The second thing, which happens more often than the first, is that some damage is done to the doctor doing the meld. In fact, on one or two occasions, both of them become locked into a coma."

Tela paled lightly at the scenarios, but noted that those were uncommon occurrences. Her face regained color as she nodded with determination. Hialus didn't like the look on her sister's face as she spoke, "Still, I want to try."

She turned around, only to have Hialus grab her wrist, "Sister… I beg of you; I can't lose you a second time." She said quietly, "So much can and has gone wrong with these types of things… Why can't you just wait?"

"Hia…" She replied softly, turning back to her sister, "I might not be a doctor, but I'm not stupid. Sooner or later, his body is going to begin rejecting the medigel… and what's going to happen then?"

"He's got at least a week before that even starts…"

"Hia."

"Tela, please. I know you care about the guy, and honestly, I think you're both pretty good for each other, but…" She shook her head, "Please, don't…"

Tela turned fully back to her sister and stepped forward, wrapping her sister in an embrace. She latched on tightly back, holding onto her sister tightly as they hugged, "I'll be fine. Nothing's ever taken me down, and nothing will. Give me a chance…"

Hialus looked up at her sister with a teary-eyed smile, "I… okay…" She finally said, "But I have two conditions if I'm going to approve of this."

"Anything."

"Most of the complications start an hour into the meld, so I'm allowed to break the meld at the one-hour mark." She stated. "And second, the moment you feel your head start to hurt, when you know that you're hurting yourself, I want you to stop."

Tela looked at her sister's serious expression and nodded, smiling lightly at her, "I promise."

"Thank you."

"Love you, Hia."

"Love you too, Ela…" Hialus broke the embrace and took a deep breath. She was still against this, but knew that once her sister set her mind to something, there's no turning her away. It'd be better to agree and allow conditions while also watching her, than the chance that Tela attempts it anyway in the middle of the night with no one watching her. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped a single step back, "Now go, and get your man back…"

Tela chuckled and wiped her own eyes. She wasn't crying, too. She wasn't. "Don't tell me what to do, Hia."

After taking a moment to compose herself, Tela took a few deep breaths and stood up, climbing slowly and carefully onto Jordan's bed. Straddling him lightly, she brought both of her blue hands up to Jordan's face, gently touching his head as she forced her heart rate to decrease. She would have blushed at the position if it were any other time or any other circumstance, but now wasn't the time.

She smiled lightly and locked eyes with Jordan's closed eyelids. She opened her mouth and whispered the two words engrained into her soul.

**"Embrace Eternity."**

Her eyes became black like the night sky, and she felt her body and mind connect with Jordan's, consciousness rapidly fleeing from her current position. Hands still rooted to Jordan's face, her body slowly slumped onto Jordan's completely.

* * *

This wasn't a normal meld, as far as Tela could tell. She didn't have much experience with the technique, that much was true, but she knew enough. There was no gentle coexistence between two nervous systems. She didn't feel like herself and Jordan were united as one being for the moment. Instead, odd sensations and peculiar feelings crawled within her nerves as foreign flashes assaulted her eyes, even though nothing of the sort was happening with their physical bodies.

At once, she and the vague world around her shifted. Darkness consumed all, before hazy thoughts and images flowed around her senses like the wind. Finally, the connection occurred, and a memory played. It was almost like watching a film, seeing something on a screen. Herself, actually, it would seem, from a third-person point of view.

The image was wrong, though. It was distorted and fuzzy, looking more like an ancient render than a film or memory. The clearness wasn't there, and the resolution was low. She wished to both watch yet look away. Feelings of fear, betrayal, anger, and sadness whirled around her, all seemingly foreign yet natural. Her own or Jordan's? She was unsure.

In the end, she could only focus on the only thing that existed. The memory.

_She watched the back of an armored human walk forward, looking down at the wooden floor. Bloodied, blue footsteps marred the hardwood. It was obviously asari blood._

_The camera panned forward, rapidly following the trail of blood to its current conclusion. It revealed a pair of blue and black combat boots, limping away from the man who was obviously in pursuit. Laughter is heard, people are happy and enjoying a night at possibly a restaurant. It reveals an Asari, just as predicted, limping forward with a hunch, obviously in pain. Ominous music was playing._

_She heard her name being called by Liara's voice. "Vasir." Liara named, "It's over."_

_It reveals the same man from earlier, now revealed to be Commander Shepard, approaching with weapons drawn and Liara by his side. The Camera shows her stop, cutting to her face, who seems to be making a decision. She turned around, approaching a young human woman, who was enjoying the evening with everyone else. "Hey, hey you!" Her voice called out to the human. "Come here." She demanded, before biotically charging to her side._

_"What's your name?" She asked, a weapon drawn and her left arm around the woman's throat. The woman is shocked, terror visible on her face._

_Everyone else screams and flees the scene. She has her weapon raised toward Shepard and Liara. No doubt or remorse is visible within her own eyes._

_"M-Mariana." The woman finally answers._

_"Mariana, you wanna live, don't you?" She asked her quietly. Loud enough for everyone to hear, but certainly not yelling. "Tell those people you want to live." She said simply._

_Shepard looks pissed, his weapon aimed at Vasir, but unable to do anything. She'd taken a hostage._

_"Please." Mariana begged._

_"Vasir, you don't need to do this." Shepard tried to reason with her._

_"All you had to do was walk away." She said, moving the gun to Mariana's head, "Now it gets ugly." She threatened._

_"Please, I have a son." The woman begs, tears trailing down her face._

_"A son?" She asked, curiously, "I hope he gets to see you again. I heard losing a parent is just horrific for children." She says simply, without remorse. Mariana is still crying. "Scars left for life."_

_"I'm going to end you, Vasir." Liara threatens._

_"It's okay, Liara." Shepard reassures her. "We'll handle it. The usual way."_

_"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Shepard?" She taunted. "Thermal clips on the ground, now." She demanded. "Power cells, too."_

_"Is that it?" Shepard asked._

_"What?" She asked back, shocked._

_"Vasir, I sacrificed hundreds of human lives to save the Destiny Ascension. I unleashed the Rachni on the Galaxy. So for your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage."_

_"You're bluffing." She responded immediately, making the fatal mistake of focusing on Shepard. She moved her weapon away from the hostage and aimed it at the two of them, before the camera focused the background._

_A biotically levitating table was lifted into the air. "Now Liara." Shepard called out. On demand, the table was thrown through the air, hitting her and leaving the hostage alone. She was sent flying and flailing into a nearby fountain._

_Mariana was on the floor, recovering, while Shepard stood protectively in front of her, aiming a weapon at the water she'd landed in. She rose biotically from the fountain with a cry and charged away, creating distance from Shepard. She raised her weapon and prepared for a dual to the death._

_A series of clips and images assault her mind, watching a third-person perspective of Shepard killing and defeating her._

_"Ahh…" She cried out in pain, falling to her knees and crawling toward a wall. "Damn it. Damn it."_

_Liara approaches her, taking something from her, and walking away as Shepard approached the two of them. "Sekkat's personal datapad." Liara said, "This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker." Liara claimed._

_"You're dead." She called, falling back against the wall with her own blood smeared on the white metal. "The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've ever faced." She told Shepard._

_Shepard replied, "Is that why you sold out the Council, to work for him?"_

_"You think I betrayed the Council?" She asked incredulously, "Like Saren? Go to hell! The Broker's given me damn good intel over the years." She tried to justify, "Intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe. So, if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation." She knew, though, that the lack of hesitation was present for more than just the value of the intel._

_Shepard replied, "Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people."_

_"Sure we don't." She replied sarcastically, "We get our hands dirty so the Council doesn't have to. The Councilors may complain about our methods to soothe their consciences, but they never look too closely. Besides, you're with Cerberus." She pointed out, "You have any idea what your terrorist friends have done?"_

_"I know who they are and what they've done. It doesn't matter." Shepard replied easily, kneeling down to her level._

_"I think it does." She shot back, "You want to judge me? Look in the mirror. Kidnapping kids for biotic death camps!" She said, "And you're with them. Don't you dare judge me!" She demanded, slowly slowing down and going quiet. She groaned in pain, wincing, "Don't… you…" She lost all strength and slumped fully over, her head falling to the side as life left her eyes._

_She was dead._

_Shepard, without a word, stood up and walked away._

* * *

Tela Vasir slumped over and caught herself with both hands planted on the soft earth beneath her. Her eyes were filled with warm light as she looked at the spot beneath her and her surroundings. Soft, green grass blew in the wind; she felt a light breeze flow around her, moving the grass and cooling her off. She looked up at a blue-turning-purple and orange sky, clouds dotting the horizon as an orange ball disappeared beneath the treetops of a faraway forest.

She looked around herself. She saw she was on a small hill, with a metal fence in front of her, and wooden posts connecting the wire. Behind her stood an old house, simple in scope, but far different than the average homes where she'd come from. She could hear wind chimes close by, and the occasional bird chirping as they flew around. She was underneath the canopy of two trees, with a few others scattered around the yard.

Over to her left was a paved and tiled area in the yard, with a stone fireplace aflame, and a familiar human sitting down in a wood-looking chair close by. Jordan sat there in jeans and a white shirt, a periodic table on it. He frowned as he stared into the flames, most of his face obscured by the flame and his hair.

Tela got up steadily, feeling odd. Was this a memory she was in? A projection? She wasn't sure, Jordan was full of surprises, that was for sure. This could be a unique situation exclusive to Jordan, thanks to his synthetic nature and the nature of his perfectly recorded memories. Or, rather, perfectly recorded implanted memories.

Slowly, she made her way over to him, no longer wearing her own pants and tank-top. Rather, she was wearing her armor. The very same armor she'd seen the memory-version of herself wearing when she'd battled Shepard and lost. She couldn't see Jordan's eyes, but could tell by his posture that he was aware of her presence. Using a second, smaller, chair on the opposing side of the small fire, Vasir took a seat.

The two were quiet for a moment, before Jordan Sower finally spoke. "You know…" He began, "I remember growing up here on this farm." He pointed toward the fields beyond the fence to their side and behind her, "The animals we had would mostly be in the fields, but we had to rotate them around every so often to keep the pastures green. We've lost quite a few over the years, but it was good while it lasted." He then pointed to the distance, pointing out a distance house and bright red barn, "That's where my mom grew up, where my grandfather lived. We'd go over there every week in the summer to swim in his pool, and occasionally help in the fields with his corn and potatoes… He was like a second father to me…" He trailed off.

After a moment of silence, he looked up, making eye contact with Tela and making her gasp. His eyes were a soft, light brown, and his scar on his face was gone. No glowing circuitry existed on any of his skin, and also, he looked a year or two younger.

"Jordan…" She whispered, a pain of sympathy in her chest made itself known.

Jordan's frown grew, his eyes watering slightly, but he didn't shed a tear. He then nodded his head at the house behind him, "Grew up in that house." He stated, "Me and my younger brothers… both parents were busy with work for most of my early life, but retired early. Had a few dogs, the last one named Rocky. He was a Boxer breed, and he'd sleep on the couch or our beds. Whenever my dad got up to use the bathroom or eat, Rocky would jump up on his warm spot and take a nap. We'd all laugh and laugh…"

Tela wanted to say something but didn't. She stood up, though, and sat right next to Jordan. His chair more like a small bench than a chair as she sat beside him.

Full tears now welled in Jordan's eyes, "Over there by the old shelter, I cut my finger cutting wood on a saw. Left this scar right here..." He showed her, "Wasn't too serious, but I stayed away from saws for a while, and this burn mark right here was burning myself on the oven inside. I was younger and impatient when we were making cinnamon rolls, and burned my wrist…" The tears now finally fell as he looked up and over at Tela.

"All of those memories… my family… this house…" He said quietly, "It's all… it's all fake…" He finally admitted, choking up a bit at admitting it. "A lie to produce a person..." Tela wrapped an arm around Jordan, pulling him in closer as he began to break down.

They sat there for a few minutes, her comforting him. The sun in the distance, which was obviously Sol, hadn't moved an inch, still halfway hidden beyond the distant tree line. She thought back to the foreign memory she'd seen pertaining to her taking a hostage and dying to Shepard. Was that another implanted memory by the Catalyst?

After a few more minutes, Jordan finally calmed down and looked over to Tela, "Thanks…" he said quietly.

She smiled at him and nodded, "So…" She trailed off, "You should probably wake up, already." She stated bluntly.

Jordan cringed a bit but shook his head, "I… I don't know…" He said, shaking his head again.

"Why not?"

"I… I just… I don't know…"

They were both silent once more.

Jordan spoke again, "Tela…" He said looking off into the distance of the memory, "Can I ask you a question?"

She wanted to give a cheeky 'you just did, but sure', but knew this probably wasn't the time. "Sure," Vasir said softly.

"What about me interests you?" He finally asked, "What makes me special in your eyes?"

Tela frowned at the question, but considered it for a moment, "You're not a bad teammate on the missions, and can hold you own." She said after a minute, getting Jordan's attention, "You're a pretty great drinking buddy, and you don't really judge me as most people would. Most people look at me as the unbreakable, intimidating Asari Spectre, and you look more at Vasir the Asari, rather than Vasir the Spectre."

"Well, of course," Jordan said, probably wanting to say more, before she cut him off.

"And you're not too bad looking, as far as humans go. I mean sure, you're not a Krogan…" She trailed off, teasing him and actually getting him to chuckle at it, "And your sense of humor ain't broke, either, so that's working in your favor. You've got determination and a drive about you that's infectious, and you genuinely care about others, including me…"

"Tela…"

"No, I want you to shut up for a minute." She stopped him, looking him dead in the eyes, "I looked back and saw the conversation you had with the Catalyst. The whole crew did." She told him, making him flinch and sweat a bit, "It… that thing told you that you're, what, an artificial construct? That it had imprinted your memories and thoughts into whatever fucking vessel it designed, all for its own gain and amusement? Am I right?"

He nodded sadly, "Yeah, I don't…" He looked down at his open hands, "I don't even know who I am. People say we're defined by our memories, yes? Well, what am I without those?"

"You're Jordan Fucking Sower, badass extraordinaire, messiah of the Geth, savior of the second-most important Spectre in the Galaxy, and, most of all, you're you."

Jordan chuckled, "I don't recall saving Jondum Bau…" He joked.

She bumped him with her shoulder, "Ass." She remarked lightheartedly with a smile, "But think about it for a moment, will you? You're a smart guy, and I'm far from stupid… Am I right, did you do all of those things?"

"Well, yeah, but-."

"I'm gonna stop you right there. You did all of those things. You went to the Geth and made them better with your Synthesis crap, right?" Jordan nodded, "And, you defeated the Shadow Broker and saved both me and my sister from his schemes, didn't you?" He, once again, nodded, "On the Citadel, you worked to clear out those 'Marauder' things and tried to save the ambassadors, huh?" He nodded again, "Of course, didn't you also use the Broker to warn a couple of people with Liara?" Jordan looked at her, a bit shocked that she knew about that, but nodded.

"Tela, I did, but I don't see how…"

She clamped a hand on his mouth, cutting off his denial, "Now, you're basically saying that you can't define yourself by your memories cause they're not yours, right?" He nodded slowly, "Well, what about everything you did after that abomination created you, huh? Everything you did, all the people you helped, was that the Catalyst that did that?"

She took her hand off of his mouth and silently demanded that he answer. He looked her in the eyes and replied, "No, that was me."

"Then focus on that. Your memories may be altered, or implanted, or whatever the hell it did to you, but those don't mean everything. Look at yourself and all the impossible things you did!" She wrapped him in a hug, "I bet, without you, I'd never have seen my sister ever again." The images she'd been assaulted with when she entered his mind flashed within her own, but pushed it aside. She'd ask about it after he was in a better state-of-mind.

"But, what about everything else?"

"You want to know my opinion?" He nodded, "Alright, well be warned. I'm not a therapist, so I don't know all that shit that I should be saying, here. Anyway, take your memories, which you say define you, and hold onto them. Treasure them, but see them for what they are. Use them, because you can't ever really be rid of them, but know they don't mean everything." She took a moment to look him in the eyes again, "I know it's hard, that you're afraid of things messing with your mind, I remember our talk back then… but work through it. If the past was the only thing that mattered, then we wouldn't have a future to work towards. Because if you think that the future doesn't matter, then the Catalyst and Reapers have already won."

Jordan was silent for a moment, and she didn't pressure him to reply. They simply sat there, enjoying one another's company and enjoying the atmosphere of the memory. After a few more moments, he spoke again.

"You know, everything kinda makes sense now, looking back." He remarked, standing up from the wooden bench and stretching for a moment. He turned back and held a hand out to Tela, who took it, and he brought her to her feet. "I'm still scared, I'll admit. This… all of this has changed everything, err, almost everything for me, and I'll probably never be exactly the same, but… I think I can work through this. I might need a bit of help, though…"

Vasir smiled and nodded, patting him on the shoulder with a wide smile before pulling him in for another hug, holding and wrapping him up tightly. "And I will be there for you, all the way. That's what friends are for, right?" She asked, pulling back to look at him in the eyes. She had mischief and glee in her eyes, but he could also see the soft kindness deep within as well.

Jordan frowned for a moment, "Tela, I… I have something I need to talk to you about first, before we… before we get any closer… Something I haven't really told anyone. Only the other Avatars, the Catalyst, and Liara, partially, know…"

"Is this about the memory I saw?" Tela asked.

"What memory?"

"When I first connected to you with this meld, I was assaulted by a memory of some sort. I…" She was no longer as confident as she'd been, "I saw myself take a woman hostage, before being killed by Shepard."

Jordan froze, but took a deep breath and sighed, "Of course you saw that…" He shook his head, "Well, I'm done hiding shit. Take a seat, I'll sit across from you. We have a lot to discuss before I try to wake up."

Tela nodded slowly and sat down back in the wooden chair. He sat opposite of her, with the small fire between them. "So, trying to figure out where to start?"

Jordan chuckled, "No, I know where to start… It's just…" He stopped for a moment, "I think I'm almost ready to wake up, now that I've calmed down thanks to you, and I think-… no, I know that I need to tell Shepard and the others about all of this too. So, I'll give you a quick crash course through this, and go further into detail with everyone. Is that fine?"

She shrugged, "Works for me, as long as I understand what the hell that memory was, then that'll be okay for now."

"OK, so, Tela Vasir, my story starts with a game I call: Mass Effect."

* * *

He began with his memories of his favorite game trilogy, explaining that a series of games existed in his memories called Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, and that countless books, comics, films, and other things existed for the franchise. He began with the story of Commander Shepard, the first game describing his mission against the Spectre, Saren. He explained the game allowed you to design your own version of Shepard.

Male or female. Earthborn, Colonist, or Spacefaring. Hero, Sole Survivor, or Renegade. Biotically inclined or not. Technologically inclined or not. The chosen classes and abilities. Even the first name.

You played as your version of Shepard, and made decisions through the game that impacted the course of events and scenarios. He described the choices with the Rachni Queen, when to save Liara, saving or killing the colonists on Feros, and which teammate to save on Vermire. Then, the final events of the game: defeating Saren, the choice to break him from indoctrination, the choice to save or leave the Council, and the decision on who'd be the human Councilor.

He explained the original events of the first game, and the changes that he'd both made and had nothing to do with, like saving both Kaiden and Ashley, or Udina's untimely death.

* * *

"Damn…" Tela said, at a loss for words after hearing about this 'Mass Effect 1'.

Jordan nodded, "Yeah… it's crazy to think about isn't it?"

She nodded back, "Yeah, that's one way of putting it. So, when I saw me taking a hostage…?" Vasir trailed off, but Jordan knew what she was asking.

Sighing, Jordan replied, "In the events of Mass Effect 2, which started with Shepard's death at the Collector and his resurrection with Cerberus, there was a DLC called Lair of the Shadow Broker." He admitted, "It was the first time the player is introduced to Spectre Tela Vasir."

"What… what happened?" She finally asked, "What did I do?"

"You… Well, it started with an assassination attempt on Liara T'Soni on Illium while she was in her apartment. Shepard was supposed to meet with her, and comes across the crime scene, where you were already 'investigating'." He explained, "You were friendly with Shepard, and smiled, working with him to figure out where Liara was, since she was missing, too. Eventually, you both discovered a file that directed you to a location where Liara had gone to in order to get Shadow Broker files decrypted."

Tela's eyes widened as she started to piece things together. She whispered, "Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people…"

Jordan nodded sadly, "You'd notified Shadow Broker forces, and they blew the building sky-high. You separated from Shepard and both entered the building. In an office higher up in the ruined building, you confront Shepard and Liara, admitting to working with the Broker, before stealing the datapad and fleeing the building."

"Eventually, I'm chased down and injured, where I take a hostage?" She said, already knowing the answer to her own question.

"Yeah, and you… you were defeated." He told her simply, looking away in shame.

Tela looked down at her open hands and clenched them. She'd always feared she'd go down in one of the Broker's missions, finally biting off more than she could metaphorically chew. She bared her teeth at the thought of her original future. "Tell me…" She said in a low, dangerous tone, getting Jordan's attention again, but not making eye contact with him, "Tell me he gets that fucker." She all but demanded.

Jordan chuckled, "Yeah, he got him. After the fight, they head to Hagalaz and kill the Broker. Liara assumes control of the Shadow Broker empire, which is a great boon for the Reaper War."

She finally let out a light smile, "That's good… still, to think… that was my destiny, huh? To die unheroically, never to see my sister again…"

"Well, that didn't happen though, did it?" Jordan asked, "It was something that I changed, and I couldn't be happier that I did."

Chuckling, she looked up, gratefulness in her eyes, "Thanks." She said genuinely. "What about the rest of Mass Effect 2 and what about 3?" She asked.

"Well, technically, we're probably about three-quarters of the way done with the second game." He admitted, "Once we get the IFF installed, we can destroy the Collector Base beyond Omega-4, ending the second game."

"And the third?"

"That's a bit trickier. The events of Mass Effect 2 seem fairly set. The Collectors could act differently from the game, but we're so close to finishing them off, it shouldn't make that big of a deal. The third game, though… that takes place six months to a year later, right at the start of the Reaper War."

She lazer-focused on him, "Tell me about the Reaper War." She said, "I need to know how it goes down."

"That's the problem, it might be completely different from last time. The balance of power in this galaxy is far different than what it was in the games."

"I don't care. Just… just tell me how it originally was supposed to go down."

"Alright." He said after a moment, "It opens with the Reaper invasion of Earth."

"Earth?" She breathed out, "I thought you said the war starts at the beginning."

"It does." He admits, "The Reapers destroy Arcturus Station, race to Sol, and take Earth within hours."

"What…"

The sky fades from existence around them for a moment, before showing fiery and debris in the sky. Massive pieces of metal fall from the sky, ablaze during reentry. Sad music begins playing on a human instrument, the piano.

"Are those…?"

"Those are what remains of the fleets that were guarding Earth."

"Dear goddess…" She breathed out, horrified. "Lost in a single day?"

He nodded, "Millions dead in minutes." He told her, before making a holographic image of another planet appear between them. There were large portions of it black or orange, as if part of the planet was aflame. "See this? That's Palavan."

She could feel bile in her throat. The two largest military superpowers of the Galaxy, overrun in the opening moments of the war? This wasn't a war, this was a slaughter. "No…"

Jordan sighed, nodding sadly, "I'll tell everyone the details later, but by the end of the war, the Galaxy had likely lost more than half of its inhabitants. Silently, before Earth, the Reapers took Khar'shan. Most of the upper-government had been indoctrinated by the Leviathan of Dis, so it was a quick and silent conquest. With the head of the Batarian government taken, most of Batarian society collapsed, and all order was lost. The Reapers converted the masses into troops dubbed 'Cannibals.'" An image of a Cannibal appeared, "Using these and some husks, the Reapers then stormed Earth and Palavan, making more Husks and Marauders."

"By the goddess… I mean, I'm no fan of the Batarians, but still…"

"I know. From there, they started invading many other systems, mostly on the outer rim of the galaxy, and the Terminus Systems. In this war, Cerberus and TIM became indoctrinated too, making things much, much worse for everyone. Eventually, the Reapers press on Thessia, and take the planet, too." He sadly admitted, "Eventually, Shepard unites the galaxy and brings the fight back to Earth, where they utilize a weapon dubbed the Crucible to end the war, once and for all."

She was horrified by the news of the war, but was stunned by the idea that a single weapon could end the war. "The Crucible?"

"The plans were originally discovered in the Mars Prothean Archives. It's a device built and planned over the course of dozens and dozens of cycles, which is completed here." Jordan explained, "There, at the conclusion of the game, Shepard is given one, final choice."

"Destruction, Control, Synthesis, and Oblivion?"

"Just like the four Avatars, yes." Jordan says, "And the Catalyst is the one giving him those choices."

The two of them became silent as they looked at one another, pondering what they've discussed. Tela could see worry in Jordan's eyes, and this wasn't just worrying for the future and the Reaper War… No, he was also worried about something else, and Tela knew what was bothering him: How was she going to react to this truth? What did she think about him, now? She decided it was time to answer the unspoken question.

She stood up and approached Jordan, who looked at her with confusion. She reached down and pulled him up, bringing him to his feet. He looked stunned for a moment, before she brought him in for another hug.

"Thank you." She said quietly into his ear.

"For what?" He asked.

"For telling me the truth, and for helping us all. I know this knowledge must have burdened you, knowing all of this while trying to figure out what to do. Sure, you had the Geth to help you, but hiding from Shepard, myself, and the crew. I'm sure it was hard." He latched on, back, and hugged her tightly as she continued, "I don't hate or judge you for any of this. If anyone is to blame, it's the Catalyst. It was the thing that gave you that knowledge, it was the one that created the Reapers, which are responsible for everything, and it was the one that is to blame for all of this. It's not your fault, if that's what you think."

"What about Shepard?" He asked quietly, "What about the others? I need to tell them all, too."

"Fuck them if they hate you. They'd be wrong, but Shepard isn't stupid, and neither is his crew. They'll understand, and I'll be there to help you out if you need me."

Jordan nodded, pulling back a bit and smiling, "Thanks, Tela."

"No problem." She said, before looking around, "Now, if you're done moping around like a loser, I think it's about time you woke up. Next time we meld, we're doing it right."

"Next time?"

"Yeah, next time. I've decided that I don't care about my reputation or confusion or any of that shit anymore. I like you, you like me, right?" She asked, to which he nodded, "Then that makes me your… what do humans call it again, girlfriend? Partner? Mate?"

Jordan coughed at the last one, sputtering in shock, "Th-the first one works..."

"Good." She said with a grin, "Now, wake the fuck up, or I'll get Tali up there to help me kick your ass. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping me."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

She gently and slowly let go of his nervous system, fading from his mind and ending the meld.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Med Bay.**

**April 5th, 2185. 10:31 pm. EST**

Jordan slowly opened his glowing green eyes, before noticing the position that he was in. Tela Vasir's own, beautiful eyes stared right back into his as she straddled his body. Her legs on either side of him and her hands resting firmly yet no uncomfortably on his head. He managed to smile lightly and opened his mouth to speak, only for him to be cut on in an unusual way.

Tela dived her head down and connected her mouth to his, sealing his lips once more in a kiss. It wasn't anything wild or particularly erotic, but it filled Jordan and Tela both with an unnatural warmth. He couldn't help the stupid grin on his face as she finally leaned back and ended the kiss.

"I've been waiting to do that." She said with a grin of her own.

Suddenly, they both heard a squeal of excitement from the side, prompting the two of them to look over and see who it was.

With a shit-eating grin, Hialus Vasir stood squealing in excitement with her hands over her mouth, equal amounts of excitement were shining in both of her blue eyes. "It's about damn time, you two!" She finally said.

"Yeah, yeah." Tela said with a roll of her eyes, "Don't you have a superior to notify, now that your patient is awake?"

Hialus pouted, "No fair, you can't use my job against me."

"Tick, tack, as the humans say." Tela shot back.

"Tick, Tock." Jordan corrected her under his breath, which caused Tela to lightly smack him in the stomach, causing no real damage.

"Fine, but no funny business while I'm gone. I don't wanna miss anything!" With that, the younger sister dashed out of the room to find Chakwas and tell her the news.

Tela turned back to Jordan, "You know she'll only be gone for two minutes, tops."

He chuckled, "She's just excited for you."

"And you." She shot back, "For some goddess-forsaken reason, she seems to have some sort of investment in the two of us."

"Looking back at it, I'd agree."

After a few seconds of silence, Tela spoke, "Look, Jordan, about what happened with the Catalyst, and Mass Effect…" She trailed off.

Jordan smiled warmly at her, and shrugged, "Thanks, but I'm better, now that I had someone knock some sense into me and talk it out with me."

"If you ever want to talk about it-."

"Yea, yeah, I can talk to you about it."

"Hell no, you can drink with me, then talk about it. I don't know how much more of that I can handle sober." She joked.

"Wow... So supportive..." He said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

She smiled back, "You're welcome, by the way."

"Now I won't thank you."

"Alright, listen here, Avatar. I'm in charge, here. I outrank you. So, if you want any sort of special privilege with me, you'll do what I want, and I want you to thank me."

"Wow." He said with a roll of his eyes, again, "Already resorting to blackmail, eh? What have I gotten myself into?" He asked rhetorically.

"The best damn thing in your life." She said with a smirk, getting the two of them to immediately start laughing. After another moment, they both stopped and she asked, "What about, you know…" She trailed off again.

Jordan sighed, right as the door slid open and revealed Hialus and Chakwas. He replied as they approached, "I'll call Shepard and get everyone together in the Comm Room. Probably invite your sister, the doc, and Joker, too."

Tela raised a false eyebrow at the idea. She didn't distrust her sister, but should she know the truth about all of this. As far as she'd been told, her sister was never even mentioned or alluded to in the games. She wasn't sure, but decided to trust Jordan's judgment.

* * *

**Serpent Nebula, Widow, Citadel, Normandy, Comm Room.**

**April 5th, 2185. 11:11 pm. EST**

After getting a clean bill of health from the Doctor and her Asari assistant, Jordan called Shepard with his omni-tool and they met in his cabin on the top floor. There, Jordan said he was ready to tell him everything, but thought the ground team and the people Shepard trusted should know the truth, too. When asked what kind of things he'd be talking about, Jordan responded with: "It will change the Galaxy, and change the war with the Reapers."

Seeing the seriousness on his face, Shepard immediately called for a meeting in the Comm room, and invited Joker and Chakwas to the briefing as well. Jordan asked about Hialus joining, and reluctantly accepted after Jordan made it clear that this affected Tela as well, and she should have a chance to listen in. Convincing him to allow their temporary prisoner, Cynthia, to attend was a bit trickier, but he got him to agree eventually in the end.

Now, after sending out the calls and requests, everyone was gathered around the table in the Comm Room, as Jordan requested.

Tali, Garrus, Ashley, Liara, Grunt, Zaeed, Brian, Jack, Miranda, Jacob, Thane, Samara, Kasumi, and Mordin were all standing around, ready for whatever was going to happen after the fiasco that was this morning. Shepard stood at the head of one end of the table, while Jordan and Tela stood at the other. Standing in the room as well, was Joker, Chakwas, and Hialus, which surprised many of the crew members with their appearance for this 'briefing'. Hell, he'd even managed to convince Shepard to allow Cynthia to be present as well, but she was still bound in a chair, not that she was resisting or anything.

Once everyone was there, Jordan looked up at the ceiling and spoke aloud, "EDI, please lock the door, turn off all recording and listening devices, and cut-off external communications." He requested.

To many's surprise, she listened, _"Of course, Jordan. The room is sealed and isolated."_

Jordan had, of course, talked to Shepard beforehand about doing this, explaining to his boss that what he was going to share and discuss could not leave the room or be told to anyone else. A few people voiced their displeasure, but seeing as how Shepard was not alarmed or against this, they eventually calmed down.

"Alright, everyone." Shepard began, "Today, as many of you were aware, Jordan, Tela, and myself went on a mission on the Citadel to confront a being called 'The Catalyst', which is responsible for both the Reapers and the Avatars, like Jordan, Cynthia, and Brian." He told them, "As you've likely seen, things didn't go the way we planned, but some uncomfortable truths pertaining to the three of them came to light that even they weren't completely aware of."

Brian nodded, a deep frown on his face, "Yes, it was… disturbing to say the least." He looked over to Jordan, wondering what exactly he was going to say or do. He didn't have any time to confront them other Avatar since he'd woken up after the mission, so he was unsure what would be transpiring, but feared what could be happening.

Jack interrupted, "That's good and all, boy scout, but why are we here? We all saw that shit, sad as it was."

Joker commented too, "Yeah, Commander. Not that I'm complaining about being added to your little pow-wow, but what am I doing in here, too?"

Shepard nodded, "I understand, but Jordan has agreed to discuss several things we all, including myself, have been wondering about and didn't understand bout the meeting. He also specifically requested that anyone that I fully trusted should be present, too. Which is why you and Doctor Chakwas are here. Isn't that right, Sower?"

Jordan nodded, "That's right, Commander. Now, everything's been disabled, because this is all top-secret information that cannot be leaked beyond this room. Understand?"

Everyone nodded in agreement to some capacity.

"Good, then I'll start with a quick recap of what the Catalyst said." Jordan began, "Myself and the other three Avatars are all creations of the Catalyst, designed to finish the cycle of extinction and harvests by the Reapers under set conditions set by the Catalyst. We were implanted with false memories of a life we never had, set before we 'woke up' on the Citadel." He told them, before eyeing Brian and Cynthia for a moment. Cynthia looked shocked, but Brian could see where he was going with this.

"That's what you know. What you don't know, is that those 'lives' we thought we had, were set for the late 20th century and early 21st century on Earth, far before any of this." He said, motioned around the room, surprising many of them, "Our memories painted us as normal people. I was a college student studying biology." He pointed to Cynthia, "Her original told me she was a teacher, right?"

Cynthia nodded sadly, "Y-yeah, I taught high-school science in Canada… Or, at least, that's what I thought…"

"That's quite shocking and confusing." Miranda commented, "But how exactly is this important?"

"Well, those memories made it feel like we were from another reality, and pulled her by the Catalyst." Jordan said, "Which you may be able to connect with what the Catalyst was saying. While we might not be from that reality, at least some form or version of our memories and knowledge is from that world or Earth." He said, "That might not seem extremely important, and may even sound convoluted and nonsensical, but there was a reason the Catalyst did that."

"Sower…" Brian said slowly with a glare, "Don't…"

Jordan shook his head, "Sorry, Brian." He said, "But, it's time for them to know the truth. No more lies, no more secrets." He turned back to the rest of them, all watching their interaction closely. Cynthia seemed to pick up on the direction Jordan was going, and was neither for nor against the idea.

"A-are you…?"

He nodded, looking across the room and making eye-contact with everyone, "It all connects to something that existed in that reality, that doesn't exist here." He began ominously.

"And what is that?" Shepard asked, curious as to where Jordan was going with this.

He laid his hands down on the table and connected himself and his memories to the holographic display. After just a half-second, a floating image of a box appeared before them. It was grey, but showed an image of Commander Shepard in his N7 armor on the front. The bottom corner had a small box with "Mature 17+" and a giant "M" on it. In big, bold letters were the words "MASS EFFECT TRILOGY", with three small images beneath it, each showing Shepard in a different pose. Beneath each one had a title. Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. The words 'BioWare' and the letters 'EA' were along the bottom, too.

The room was quiet as most of them stared at it in confusion. Brian and Cynthia were in shock, as was Tela. Shepard, in particular, appeared stunned.

"I'm going to talk about a series of games, titled: Mass Effect!"


End file.
